The Dispatch, Vol. 35, Issue #5, 5/12/23

SPORTS

Texas districts in limbo with the state

The Texas Education Agency reveals plans to appoint a conservator to Austin district

Carey Wooley Editor-in-Chief

The main reasoning TEA is using to explain why they want to be involved in AISD, is the backlog of school-provided, in-person evaluations that haven't been conducted. These evaluations need a trained professional to test the child to see what learning disabilities they may have and what accommodations they may need.

“The district takes full ownership of the problems that have led TEA to issue sanctions,” AISD Media Relations Coordinator Nayeli Santoyo Flores said. “But we are requesting an informal review of TEA’s decision to establish a conservatorship over special education.”

The initial investigation began in 2021 after TEA received a letter from Disability Rights Texas, an advocacy group, urging them to

Lucille Price Editor-in-Chief

Arriving to class exhausted, struggling to keep up with her classes, student Jane Doe finds herself scrolling until late hours on TikTok putting off her responsibilities and homework. She dives down the rabbit hole of videos specially curated for her by TikTok’s sensitive algorithm and programming.

For 14-year-old Doe, the effects of social media weigh heavily on her mental health, school performance, and relationships. Her parents angrily yell at her, accusing her of being addicted to her screen, threatening to take it away. She has even decided to practice discipline around apps such as TikTok and Instagram, setting timers on her phone. While Doe is not a real student, her story is one that has sparked a critical question. Whether the

SOURCE Pew Research Center

SPEAKING OUT: Leaders and members of the labor union, Education Austin, left many voicemails for the AISD school board to listen to at an emergency meeting that discussed the actions of TEA. Every time the board played a message that included a member of the union, Education Austin constituents stood for the duration of the playback.

PHOTO BY Carey Wooley

investigate AISD and the management of their special education department. The group also filed suit against AISD the same month.

AISD has hundreds of evaluations and reevaluations that have been delayed for many different reasons.

“The special education evaluation backlog results from multiple factors,” Santoyo Flores

government should be involved in helping parents control social media usage to protect their children. For one state, this question has been answered.

On Wednesday March 1, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, signed two bills that limit minor access to social media apps. AP Government teacher Dalton Pool knows there are concerns over similar bills that would be passed in Texas have surfaced.

“Utah is traditionally one of the more socially conservative states, so the fact that [the bill] started there, I'm not too surprised. A lot of it has to do with their LDS population,” Pool said. “I could see it coming out in Texas and there's been bills filed in Texas similar to this. I don't think there's a lot of momentum behind them because social media is really popular and both parties know that, so they want to voice support for responsible social media usage, but

%ofteenswhouse theinternet

almost constantly once a day less often

said. “Including a series of leadership changes, staffing shortages, and outdated systems. The backlog grew exponentially through the early stages of the pandemic when, for a period of time, we were unable to complete evaluations in person. As we came out of the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in the rate of new evaluation requests, further compounding

the issue.”

Staffing remains one of the main issues in fixing this backlog. According to the interim superintendent of AISD, Matias Segura, about 20 of the 70 positions available for Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs) are filled. These are the individuals that test and evaluate READ MORE "Texas seizes" pg. 2

Utah Governor implements digital curfew SAT moves online

as far as cracking down and really restricting these companies and their bottom line, I don't see a ton of states doing that, even red states.”

The Utah Social Media Regulation Act requires social media platforms to conduct age verification, which may require users to submit birth certificates, government issued IDs, email address, physical address or facial recognition technology to identify the user’s age.

“I don't think it would be considered a violation of the constitutional rights, Fourth Amendment rights for the children because the parents basically don't get those rights until you're an adult.” Pool said. “So there's a lot of parental oversight there kind of like when you're in school, you lose some rights. So, as far as being challenged under free speech or fourth amendment I don't see the courts really taking an issue with the law. Now, personally, a law like that, does. It's the government getting involved in something that traditionally in the United States they weren't getting involved with, an invasion of privacy.”

Students prepare to adjust from the printed SAT version

In early 2022, College Board announced the SAT was going digital by 2023. This means that international students will be taking the test digitally in the spring. Following that, the PSAT will be digital for everyone in the fall, and by 2024 the SAT will be fully taken online. This opens more flexibility for the test takers without restrictions that were held with the paper version.

With this new testing platform, many things will remain the same but a few things will be added to make the test more simple. The test time has been reduced from three hours to two hours, and the math sections will now allow you to use a calculator on both of the sections, even adding a built-in one on the testing site, among other efficient add-ons.

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97 several times a day

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Counselor Nicole Hepburn reflects on times in her work where social media has become a challenge with a student and their parent. According to Hepburn, there are controls already in place on iPhones where parents can step in.

“There's been lots of times like, I've sat down with parents whose kids are dealing with something with social media and I’ve said you can turn their things off at 10 o'clock. You can make access from this time to this time, we have access and they’re like ‘wait, what?’ Yes, that's something I can show them how to do that.” Hepburn said.

Utah Bills S.B. 152 and H.B. 311 prohibit minor use of social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.. The bill also requires a statement from a parent or guardian for under 18 approval.

ENTERTAINMENT Culinary students host a Teen internet use increases 2014-15

fundraiser. pg. 13 2022

“There's already some good controls that phones have and a lot of parents just don't know that,” Hepburn said. “I'm not sure like the government stepping in is like, the best stable thing I don't feel I love the government telling people how to parent. But I do think there needs to be more education for teenagers about social media. Both positive and also more education for parents on how to protect their kids on social media.”

Both Pool and Hepburn know there are

Online testing, in general, is making its way to many tests. By moving the SAT online it is looking to have a positive outcome for everyone, by cutting back costs and making this test more efficient for everyone.

“I would prefer digital because bubbling in the answer was annoying and just putting in the answers online would be more efficient,” junior Abby Oden said.

A concern seen by some is if this digital platform will affect other students' test scores. One of the main purposes of the digital test was to make it more accessible for everyone, including teachers giving it and the students taking it. Even in studies directed by others, online testing is better overall for the environment and efficiency, students tend to do better.

“I do think there will be an improvement in scores,” Shumate said. “After the STAAR test moved online they used a different grading scale with the online test and they saw better scores with the improvement of earlier scores. I hope they see that for the SAT as well.” STORY BY Maddy Franco

PHOTO ESSAY Bowie science classes host first graders from elementary schools for a science fair day. pg. 6

ART BY Maddy Franco

PHOTO ESSAY Ultimate Frisbee club dominates competition season. pg. 16

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

PHOTO BY Charlotte Koellner

PHOTO BY Arden Ray

“I’ve done proctoring for online testing before and one of the biggest things that are important is to get some familiarity with the testing platform,” English teacher Whitney Shumate said. “There is a different learning curve with online tests, like students with accommodations should have some familiarity with the test since it’s a new thing. With this new test students should at least have some practice with the new platform.”

Every day students across the Austin Independent School District (AISD) utilize accommodations that are a part of their 504 or Individualized Education Program, (IEP). These accommodations help students who would otherwise feel overwhelmed with their workload, be able to complete their work and understand the knowledge required to pass their classes.

After over a year of investigations, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced they would be assigning a conservator to AISD’s special education department. This comes less than a week after TEA announced their plan to take hold of Houston’s school district, (HISD).

“My name is Matt Flickinger and I am a high school teacher,” English teacher Matt Flickinger said in a call to AISD board members on the night of their special emergency meeting. “As a teacher and staff member of Austin ISD, I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of underfunding and under-staffing in our public schools as well as the disproportionate effects this has had on our special populations. Remediating this dire situation does not call for a conservatorship, but rather requires support, resources, and funding from our state. Something that has been denied to us far too often. Austin ISD spent the better part of $1 billion on recapture last year. Oversight without proper resources is disingenuous at best, especially from the governing body responsible for this deficit in the first place.”

Texas seizes Houston Independent School District

Accountability Ratings for Major Texas Districts 2022 B

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“AISD did see major staffing cuts last year,” English teacher and Education Austin member Jacob Morgan said. “There was a backlog that existed before the pandemic, but really, during the pandemic, a lot of these natural processes that need to occur like the evaluations were made difficult, since the kids weren't on campus, so it really just slowed things down and made things muddy.”

Several months before the Covid-19 pandemic, AISD added Dyslexia to the list of conditions that require a school provided evaluation. When the pandemic hit, and all classes were moved online, there was a push to do evaluations remotely but they were quite difficult to conduct. Both of these factors further added to the backlog.

“We haven't had the funding that we need from the state for these students,”

special education and the knowledge and lived experiences of our staff and families,” AISD board president Arati Singh said in a newsletter to AISD teachers and families. “We hold deeply the belief that the best solutions come from working collaboratively with the people who are closest to a problem, by listening, learning, and using those insights to inform our work.”

SOURCE Texas Education Agency

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Both Pool and Hepburn know there are positives and negatives to minors having unlimited access to social media from having children of their own with phones.

“You need to know how to use it and it's useful for so many things. Especially if my kids at soccer practice and I'm not there,” Pool said. “I want to know where they are and be able to contact them. But I don't want them to just be scrolling through Instagram all day long.”

The bills’ initiative as promised by Cox is to protect minor safety and improve mental health for teens. According to the National Center for Health Research, 13% of kids ages 12-17 report depression and 32% report anxiety, while 25% of 18 to 25-year-olds report mental illness. These age groups report high usage of social media. “I do not think that this bill his the most effective way to combat the mental health crisis because it mitigates the problem but does not solve the root issue. An effective way of eradicating mental health issues is expanding access to mental health resources, decreasing exposure to negative forms of influence, and increasing awareness,” senior Fionella Caputo said. “Because the bill just implements parental approval, there is no assurance that parents are going to consider all of the implications of social media and may allow their children to use social media without monitoring it to ensure that their children are healthily consuming media. Additionally, there are many easy ways to bypass these security systems, such as attaining your birth certificate or falsifying signatures, which

Morgan said. “TEA right now is facing a federal investigation for their own kind of mishandling of these issues and for not allocating enough funding for sped students.”

Before TEA got involved with AISD, they announced they would be seizing Houston’s district because of a low rating at one of their high schools. Each year, TEA gives every Texas public school a report card based on the school's academic performance. TEA then uses those scores to determine what schools, districts, or programs need to be changed or shut down completely.

The role of a conservator is to oversee operations to change and direct things in the way they and or TEA sees fit. In this particular case the conservator can examine anything related to the special education department. This includes anything regarding students with 504 or IEP accommodations, any processes regarding aids to students with disabilities, and any other individuals involved with special education in AISD.

“I don’t think that TEA is fit to oversee special education in AISD or in Houston,” junior Genevieve Hill said.

“When the news of Houston ISD came out, I conceded that the same thing might happen to AISD.“

Before TEA made the decision to assign a conservator, AISD suggested a monitor could be helpful. A monitor would examine the issues within the special education department and report to TEA on what resources AISD needs.

The Labor union, Education Austin has been mounting their support behind the existing AISD board and are urging them to appeal TEA’s decision. They have held several protests against this decision in the weeks following its release.

“When I got news of what TEA was doing, Education Austin board members quickly kind of coordinated and said we need to come out and make a stand,” Morgan said. “This is going to hurt the people in the district level, top down. I don't see anything positive coming from that.”

AISD has the power to appeal this decision and ask TEA to reconsider. On April 17 Segura announced AISD has asked TEA to conduct an informal review of their decision to appoint a conservator and look at the district's plan to fix the current problems in special education.

“Moving forward, our Austin ISD community can expect a collaborative and transparent approach centered around both best practices for inclusive

"Under this superintendent and school board, significant progress has been made in HISD,” Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said in a media briefing following TEA’s news. “Forty of 50 former D or F-rated schools are in a much better status today.

I give great credit to the teachers and students at Wheatley High School. You don't reward success by penalizing not just that school, but you're taking over 275 other schools as well.”

11.1% 13.3% 10.2%

Students in Special education % State Wide District Wide Bowie

One of the reasons why this news was so alarming to teachers and government officials in Houston, is because it means TEA will remove all of the democratically elected school board members including the superintendent from office and replace them with applicants they hand pick. Officials in Austin were fearful of that happening to the AISD board if they did not appeal the conservatorship decision.

“The Houston situation in particular, was definitely a red flag,” Morgan said. “I was worried. We haven't seen a lot of good things come out of TEA as far as I've been concerned. We see guidance sometimes, but it has been Texas trying to restrict curriculum's and privatize public education. They have not been giving us the

Roughly 465,000 students

Roughly 5,500 students

SOURCE Texas Tribune ART BY Carey Wooley

fund-

ing that we need. In fact, this last legislative session was kind of a letdown regarding how we can pay our teachers and keep our districts afloat. So I feel pretty cynical about most things that TEA is doing and that extends to when I saw that they were trying to get involved with Austin ISD, I didn't feel any kind of hope that it was going to be beneficial at all.”

Utah governor implements digital curfew for minors

still allows children to be exposed to harmful material.”

According to Google, Social Media is defined as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

“As someone who's been a parent, and he's grown, but I feel like it's kind of like looking at their journal,” counselor Claire Smith said. “It feels like it's a boundary that I would want to as a parent and be like, well, I want to see especially if I was worried about them that they've gone through a bad spell, but yet it is like looking in there.”

According to Politico.com, Governor Cox has stated that the restrictions will not be “foolproof” knowing that kids will know how to escape the restrictions and there will be serious push back from social media companies and legally, but he does expect to see other red states following in a similar direction.

B B 25% 20%

The American opinion on a national TikTok ban

in favor against unsure

“I believe that free speech (with its obvious limitations of not inflicting harm upon others) will continue to be upheld on social media and I believe the court will uphold that value if challenged,” Caputo said. “On the other hand, I think that minor privacy will be protected and social media companies will amend their terms and condition to contain material about minor protections, which are easily verified through the use of biometrics.”

Pool touches on the controversy of the issue.

“Another way to look at this issue is through the lens of alcohol and tobacco. These are products that have been proven unsafe for

minors to consume so there are state and federal restrictions on who can access them,” Pool said.

“The same argument can be applied to social media. There are studies that show how it can be harmful for minors to consume. So placing

SOURCE Pew Research Center

ART BY Lucille Price

restrictions a product that can be proven harmful is something there is plenty of precedent for. Now having said that. Teenagers still use alcohol and tobacco even though it is illegal and they don't have parental permission.”

Trump catches criminal charges

Former president faces jail time on accusations of bribing porn star for silence

Mazzy Warren Managing Editor

Sitting on the couch, junior Skye Farris grabs the TV remote and flips through the channels. She pauses as she lands on the Daily Show, a favorite in her house. Her eyes are pulled to the breaking-news headline which rests boldly at the bottom of the screen, declaring: MANHATTAN GRAND JURY VOTES TO INDICT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP. Farris’ jaw drops as she listens in.

For the first time in US history, a former president has been indicted and arrested, as Donald Trump now faces 34 felony counts for falsifying New York business records. Some believe his lawyers will challenge the charges on the basis of their unclarity; these charges are rooted in a $130,000 payment made to buy porn star Stormy Daniels’ silence over an affair that took place before the 2016 election. Farris thought it was about time he got caught; street law teacher Ethan Owens is stunned the charges made it through.

prison time. However, Bragg believes the documents were falsified to conceal crimes related to the 2016 election, allowing prosecutors to raise the charges to felonies, which carry up to four years behind bars.

“I think these charges were justified, because he’s definitely done lots of things wrong, and been a bad politician,” junior Maddox Brown said. “But it is a little sketchy to only give Trump these felony charges based on Bragg’s own suspicion.”

According to Brown, Braggs may not have presented enough evidence to warrant the charges. She believes they will be dismissed if Trump’s lawyers decide to appeal. Legal observers were surprised that the indictment wasn’t more specific on how each misdemeanor was raised to a felony, which leads many to believe the defense, Trump’s lawyers, will attack Bragg’s decision.

There are so many good ways to use all this money Trump has, but he just pays off people he's had affairs with. It's a waste.

Skye Farris Junior

"I've had mixed feelings about it," Owens said. "Part of me is surprised; the other part of me is definitely not so surprised. I'm surprised that they're willing to charge a former official like Donald Trump, because it's never happened before. But at the same time, I'm not surprised, because of the political climate and the way people have gone after Trump and his companions in these last few years."

This case was based in New York, presided over by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. There are no state laws that ban hush money payments, like those Trump has made; however, falsifying business records to hide said payments is a crime.

“This is such a stupid thing to be caught on,” Farris said. “I feel like there was an easier, smarter way for him to handle that situation, and Trump has done so many other things he should have gotten in trouble for. But at least he got caught, and there’s a ton of charges against him.”

The 34 counts would usually be misdemeanors, which are lower-level charges that wouldn’t result in

“I think that, if Trump’s lawyers choose to attack the charges, the charges will definitely change,” Brown said. “Trump’s an ex-president, so he's going to have lawyers who are good enough at their jobs to affect his charges. In an ideal world, they would stay felonies, but if the evidence only says misdemeanors, they should stay misdemeanors.”

Prosecutors also cited $30,000 made out to a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child resulting from an affair. They also referenced a separate $150,000 payment to Playboy model Karen McDougal, which was also spent to keep an alleged affair secret.

“Trump is spending so much money, basically just throwing it out, to keep himself from facing trouble,” Farris said. “There are so many good ways to use all this money he clearly has, for positive things, but he just pays off people he’s had affairs with. It’s a waste.”

This case is just one of Trump’s legal woes, though, as Georgia prosecutors investigate Trump’s involvement in the January 6 insurrection. Federal prosecutors are investigating Trump’s potential mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.

“I'm willing to bet that if he gets snagged on one case, it'll be a domino effect after that,” Owens said. “Once one prosecutor wins one case, another one is going to win in a constant domino fall. But that pendulum could

TRUMP CHARGED WITH 34 COUNTS OF FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS

$130,000 SENT TO PORN STAR STORMY DANIELS

$30,000 SENT TO FORMER TRUMP TOWER DOORMAN

$150,000 SENT TO PLAYBOY MODEL KAREN MCDOUGAL

POLITICAL POINT OF VIEW

Utah passed a bill restricting teen's rights to social media and self expression. Texans are in danger of losing their rights.

IS TRUMP FACING SERIOUS CHARGES? SOURCEQuinnipi a c oP l l

21% REP. VOTERS SAY SO

89% DEM. VOTERS SAY SO

SHOULD TRUMP BE DISQUALIFIED FROM RUNNING AGAIN?

23% REP. VOTERS SAY SO

88% DEM. VOTERS SAY SO

ART BYMazzy W a r e n

swing back in the other direction, and if he's acquitted, that could give a huge boost to his campaign in 2024. If prosecutors want to prevent Trump from re-election, they need a win here.” Despite these hurdles, Trump still plans to run for a second term in the 2024 presidential election. There are no Constitutional restrictions that prevent people indicted or convicted of a crime (or even currently serving prison time) from running for president.

Owens believes this case will determine the fate of the next presidential election.

“If Trump is acquitted, then Republicans would have no choice but to fully back him,” Owens said. “He'd be boosted hugely by losing the charges. If his lawyers do lose to Bragg, then Republicans have no choice but to dump all their support to Florida governor Ron DeSantis. This trial will determine the Republican nominee in 2024.”

Owens believes it’s important that students follow this case because, even if they can’t vote, this case sets precedents that will affect their future roles as voters controlling the politics and law in this country. This case also proves that presidents do not have supreme power, and, as future voters, students can recognize that they have the ability to create change in the developing world of politics around them.

“This isn’t the first time we're trying to hold a President accountable,” Owens said. “You guys have the power to implicate government officials, if you're willing to take the steps, and we need people to do that. Cases like Trump’s show that, even if you have the highest office in the land, you are not in a bubble, and you can be held accountable.”

American women struggle under abortion bills

Emily Loewe Dispatch Reporter

Abortion restrictions have controlled American women's bodies for years. For some, this ensures women and children's safety. To many others, it's a tyrannical method to strengthen officials' power over women's bodies. March 17, 2023, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill banning the use of Mifepristone, a pill used to terminate pregnancies of ten weeks. This drug was passed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, who determined that it was “safe and effective for its indicated use,” helping women terminate unwanted pregnancies.

Gordon's bill was signed at the same time that Texas judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ordered a nationwide ban on the pill. The ban was done in response to a lawsuit against the FDA by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM). AHM is a coalition made up of anti-abortion groups aiming to abolish all abortion treatments.

“The two-party system, where it's usversus-them, pins the Republican and Democratic parties against each other,” math teacher Edward Day said. “While the Republicans are in power, they will attack and build the resources to fight against the Liberals, and vice-versa. They are focused on the differences in ideals instead of strengthening what they already have.”

The FDA/AHM lawsuit argues whether or not the FDA properly reviewed their data on Mifepristone and followed standard regulations. AHM claims that the FDA kept the pill on the market for political reasons, disregarding women's safety. The FDA has denied this accusation, claiming that they stand behind the safety regulations used for Mifepristone.

“We have these two or three issues that pretty much decide everything else about how the government works,” Day said. “I would just like to see a little bit

OVER 1,074 STATE ABORTION RESTRICTIONS HAVE BEEN ENACTED SINCE 1973

5 DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESTRICTIONS ENACTED

47,000 WOMEN DIE YEARLY FROM UNSAFE ABORTIONS

INFO FROM ET Cetera & Center for America Progress

31 STATES HAVE ENACTED ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS

1 0 EXCEPTION IS PROVIDED IN TEXAS ABORTION LAW WHEN THE MOTHER'S LIFE IS IN DANGER

less divide between parties. “

Kacsmaryk was expected to rule in favor of the AHM. This belief stems from Senate representatives who opposed Kacsmaryk’s initial nomination to the Senate by former President Donald Trump in 2017. After Trump’s selection, Women's Rights and LGBTQ Rights groups joined Senators in their opposition to Kacsmaryk’s nomination due to his policies on equal rights.

“I hope to see politicians that are more open-minded and supportive of women in the future, and who at least allow us to have the choice to make our

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE AND INCEST

own decisions,” junior Mia Bridget said. “You shouldn't enforce your own religion or concepts that don't have anything to do with religion. Not everyone is Christian or religious in America, we’re a big melting pot. It doesn't make sense to push these restrictions when it only supports some parts of the country.”

Kacsmaryk issued his preliminary ruling on April 7, 2023, invalidating the FDA’s safe ruling over Mifepristone. If this ruling stands, all American women,

even those in states with legal abortion, would struggle to get access to this drug. Many have already voiced their opposition to this bill’s ratification, including a Washington judge who issued a new ruling going directly against Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision; it orders the FDA to make no changes to the availability of Mifepristone in a certain 18 states, all of whom filed lawsuits against the Mifepristone ban. The current situation is expected to end up in front of the Supreme Court, in a similar situation to when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June last year.

“As many people joke around with coat hanger abortions, people need to know that's a very real thing,” an anonymous senior said. “Politicians are putting women in more danger, because we have to resort to these solutions because they blocked access to abortion. If women can't have the baby, or just can't afford to have the baby, then they're gonna find one way or another way to get rid of it, even if that could cause them permanent damage.”

There has been opposition from many citizens, who believe women should have the choice to decide whether or not to get an abortion. As of April 15, 2023, a Federal appeals court ruled that Mifepristone will not be taken off the market, but restrictions for buying it will increase. The case is currently in front of the Supreme Court, who have held that the Federal Appellate Court ruling stands for the time being, as they make decisions behind the scenes in the so called "shadow docket."

“This is the first step into worse abortion restrictions, but if we get more women in charge, and get different people in charge of the country, we'll get more support for women’s choice efforts,” Bridget said. “It's definitely going to make abortion regulation way stricter. But I know, in the future, we can also always undo old legislation and pass new bills that support our ideals, even though it'll be tough to do so.”

Amara Lopez Dispatch Reporter Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com

As the CEO of TikTok was questioned by Congress about the app’s protection and privacy features, Utah Governor Spencer Cox (Rep) made an even bigger statement; he signed two new bills into law, mandating parental consent for minors to obtain a social media account. They also restrict teen access to these platforms during ‘curfew hours’, and give parents and guardians rights to monitor and access any activity on their child’s accounts.

Though I feel there's something to be said about how addictive social media is, and though I agree with Utah’s prohibiting advertisers from marketing toward kids, I feel that the law’s overall purpose to protect minors' safety and privacy, by giving their parent or guardian full access to their accounts, with or without their consent, is inherently wrong.

Though social media platforms are linked with increasing mental health issues, they also do lots of good. Many kids turn to these platforms to connect with others their age, and it's a place where they can see that other people in the world are similar to them and face the same struggles. Social media has fostered a growing community of LGBTQ+ users, which includes many children who are coming to terms with their identities. It has also become a great source for mental health information, resources, and support.

Limiting access to these tools and support systems isolates kids from the good in the world. Parents now have a window to peek into their children’s personal lives, which they may not believe in or approve of. There is a clear line between informing parents of dangerous things their child may do, and alerting them of any message, video, or follower they get. I think this type of access into children's lives is very easy to abuse, and can be more dangerous than any social media post ever could be. Because social media affects every user differently, I feel that it's counterproductive to enforce restrictions to shelter kids from the media. I feel that when diving into the issue of improving a minor's mental health, the focus should not be on strengthening parental rights, but finding a way to hold social media corporations accountable for their lack of protections for users and their algorithms.

While minors are allowed limited rights to free speech and privacy, these First Amendment rights are typically only withheld from them in settings like schools, where their actions could be harmful to another’s education. A ban like this restricts these rights in all settings, and takes away a minor’s right to privacy, access to information on politics and current events, as well as the overall freedom of choice over their own lives. This is not just taking away an app, but access to a world that informs them of the current state of the world.

For a political party that prides itself on protecting people's right to the freedom of speech and privacy, especially on social media, this seems to be a hypocritical move of the Republicans’. However, red states like Texas are already looking at Utah as an example, and are drafting their own laws that strive to restrict social media access for minors in their respective states.

In a community like Bowie, with many clubs, school announcements, and mental health resources being primarily posted on social media, students without this access will struggle to feel connected, and will ultimately miss out on the important lessons school teaches us, that shape us into well-rounded individuals.

ART BY Mazzy Warren

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ART BY Asher Hagan

SOURCE Manhattan District Attorney

Musicians take on national ensemble Band students accepted into the renowned National Youth Orchestra summer program

Kate Davis Managing Editor

Feeling the heat of the stage lights, taking in the rows of red velvet seats, junior Christopher Meeks and senior Vera Romero prepare to perform in Carnegie Hall with the National Youth Orchestra.

For both Meeks and Romero, music was a key part of their childhood, having come from families with strong musical inclinations.

“I have musical roots that go so far back,” Meeks said. “My great grandfather founded the One O’clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas. It is one of the most renowned college jazz bands in the world. He said I had to pick an instrument in band or orchestra, so I chose the trumpet and it stuck with me.”

Though music has always piqued their interests, both Meeks and Romero attribute the true start of their passion to their middle school band experiences.

“When I was in sixth grade, I had my first concert,” Romero said. “I remember telling my parents afterward that it made me a lot happier than I expected it to. That’s when I realized that I wanted to do this as a career.”

Moving into high school, Meeks and Romero decided to continue their musical careers in the Bowie band program, and cherish the resources being

in the program has granted them.

“They’ve given me the opportunity to work with so many different conductors,” Romero said. “I’ve learned so many varied forms of music that I can use to build my own repertoire and the kind of musician I want to be. That’s kind of allowed me to create the way that I want to be perceived by the people who I audition for.”

During their time in the Bowie band, Meeks and Romero have not only invested in their personal growth, but have left a significant impact on their peers and the program as a whole.

orchestra for US students between the ages of 16 and 19. This ensemble will spend a month together during the summer, with a residency at a university and a tour across North America playing roughly four to five different symphonies.

Believe in yourself and don’t let yourself have any doubt in your abilities. You are there for a reason, and people pick you for a reason.

Vera Romero Senior

“Vera is band president and has coordinated some pretty awesome things for the band,” senior Lisa Diaz said. “She has a very organized way of going about things which I think has come to a benefit for all the students and especially the directors.”

Now having several years of experience playing in the band, Meeks and Romero decided to audition for the National Youth Orchestra, a full

"“It’s an honor,” Meeks said. “I’ve known about it since last year, but when I really learned about it, it set in that I’m in such a prestigious organization. It was mind blowing to hear that I got in. I’m super excited because I’ve never done anything like this before.” The audition process to become a member of the orchestra is tedious, to ensure that the most prestigious applicants are accepted. Applicants must submit several videos of them playing excerpts chosen by the program, as well as a longer solo. From there, the videos are judged by professors all over the nation.

“Well, the National Youth Orchestra is a very selective group of students,” Romero said. “All of us are there because we want to be the best in the country for our age.”

Being a member of such a distinguished ensemble comes with high expectations, and an added pressure to the musicians to continue to perform at such an impressive level.

“I think that eventually [the pressure] is going to hit, maybe once I get there. Maybe it’s a month from now. It might be tomorrow,” Meeks said. “It’s such a prestigious group that I feel like at some point it is going to hit me.”

Although the idea of touring and playing such renowned pieces of music seems overwhelming to most, Romero has found the silver lining to the initial pressure that comes with the National Youth Orchestra.

“It was really validating in a sense because that is what I want to do as a job so it felt really nice to know that I can make it into prestigious orchestras,” Romero said. “I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, because now I know that with all my hard work, I can do stuff like that. So it’s less of a question in my head of whether I’m good enough.”

Not only did being accepted into the orchestra boost Meeks and Romero’s confidence, it has also set a precedent and goal for their fellow musicians to aim for.

“Topher is a great motivation for me because I’ve known him since

eighth grade and we’ve been in the same organizations many times,” junior Erick Galicia said. “Him being around makes me want to work hard so I can keep up with him and his greatness.”

After their time in the National Youth Orchestra and the Bowie band, both students have plans to pursue a music degree in college and eventually become professional musicians.

“To be honest, I don’t really want to get my masters,” Meeks said. “Generally speaking, in my field, if you’re good enough, you win a job in an orchestra before you’re able to finish your masters. So that’s my hope, and my ultimate goal after that is to win a principal job in a major symphony. Ideally, the New York symphony.”

As Meeks and Romero move into the next stages of their music careers, they reflect on the adversities and triumphs they faced so far.

Topher is a great motivation for me. Him being around makes me want to work hard so I can keep up with him and his greatness.

Erick Galicia Junior

"“Believe in yourself and don’t let yourself have any doubt in your abilities,” Romero said. “You are there for a reason, and people pick you for a reason. Something that I struggle with most is my confidence because it is such a competitive field. Just trust the fact that you practice so much and all your hard work does get you somewhere.”

Senior students graduate with Medical Assistant licenses

Savannah Linscomb Dispatch Reporter

This year a group of Bowie seniors will throw their graduation caps in the air while having a foot in the door of their future in the form of a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) license. The group of nine has been traveling from Bowie to Akins to complete the program in order to be a step ahead at graduation.

This was the third year of the program at Bowie. However, due to scheduling conflicts students had the opportunity to commute to Akins High School in order to take Health Science Practicum.

Students decided to make this drive in order to gain the experiences offered by the program.

“It was kind of tough at first going back and forth, but it was worth it because I got to learn a lot of stuff,” senior Marbella Carrasco said.

Carrasco, who is enrolled in Health Science practicum hopes that her CMA will allow her to help people in her future.

“Seeing that Bowie had a specific pathway to become a pharmacy technician or a medical assistant motivated me to be part of it,” Carrasco said.

“I’m interested in helping people.”

Carrasco was not originally interested in the medical field; however the pathway offered at Bowie encouraged her to explore the field.

Health

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Carrasco said. “All the medical field stuff got me interested in making me want to help people”

The pathway prepares students for a myriad of medical and healthcare professions by providing early experience that is not available everywhere. Students learn how to take blood, give injections, perform EKG’s, take vitals and much more.

“There’s a lot of hands-on activities. You get to participate,” Carrasco said. “And you definitely socialize and get closer to your peers.”

students and pouring confidence into them is important,” Flores said. “I am hard on the students because the medical field is no joke.”

Students got to see different perspectives and that is a lesson that goes far beyond the classroom.

Jennifer

Health Science Practicum Teacher

Since Health Science Practicum was not yet available on the Bowie Campus, Akins Practicum teacher Jennifer Flores took on teaching both Bowie and Akins students.

“It was actually a great experience,” Flores said “Students got to see different perspectives and that is a lesson that goes far beyond the classroom.” Flores who has taught practicum for 17 years has seen students go into Nursing, Pre-Med and Physical Therapy. She believes in being stern to her students to prepare them for their futures.

“Building relationships with

Corey Hooks, the Health Science Practicum teacher at Bowie is impressed by the effort he has seen from this year ’s students. “We had nine and all nine of them got their medical assistant license. So that is a big deal,” Hooks said. “And they qualify to work in a hospital as a medical assistant.”

The opportunities for these students go beyond applying for college, such as programs at hospitals allow students to begin work directly out of high school.

“Seton Ascension runs a job fair where high school students are actually looking for brand new medical assistants with no experience,” Hooks said. “Baylor Scott and White is also running a job fair as well. There’s actually a lot of healthcare looking for exactly this.”

Hook’s students have promising plans for their futures including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, oncologists and pediatricians. This group includes one student who wants to be a Pediatric Oncologist.

“We need those people but it’s a hard path to take,” Hooks said. “ I think it would be, you know, rewarding and heartbreaking at the same time.”

The pathway and classes are

partnered by the club Health Occupations Students of America, or HOSA, where students learn valuable abilities such as how to suture and how to apply and take off sterile gloves.

“All that seems super basic, but it’s something that high school students are willing to do so they know what they’re doing when they start working,” Hooks said.

Student Kyle Tran praises the program for the one-of-a-kind experience and connections it has given him.

“It’s the most unique class I’ve taken at Bowie,” Tran said.

“It helps you get a jump start if you want to go into the medical field.”

Tran finds that the program can not only assist students who plan to go into the medical field but how to be a professional in any field of work.

“Getting to interact with health professionals in the hospitals is very helpful to getting insight on what it’s like to work there,” Tran said.

Tran values what he has learned in the program, but is not going into the medical field.

“It’s interesting to see the variety of jobs in the healthcare

industry,” Tran said. “I’ll be going to Texas A&M for engineering.”

Each Bowie student enrolled in this program has worked hard to prepare for this potential career. These students include Bailey Alsup, Daniel Cardenas, Marbella Carrasco, Michelle Colby, Isabella del Nido, Isabella Helmi, Lauren Luna, Kyle Tran, and Laura Vandervennet.

“The leadership and compassion of this class surpasses any college class I have ever taught,” Flores said. “I’m so proud and can not wait to see what the future holds for them.”

PREPARING TO PLAY: Senior Vera Romero begins to play a song on the French Horn. Romero began to play this instrument in the sixth grade when she joined her middle school band. PHOTO BY Nic Ospina

PLAYING A TUNE: Junior Christopher Meeks practices a song with the Bowie band, as a member of the trumpet section. Meeks has been interested in music since he was a little kid, but began this instrument in sixth grade when he joined his middle school band. PHOTO BY Nic Ospina

LINED UP: The senior students in the Health Science Practicum class pose for a photo in their blue scrubs to commemorate their achievements. These students will graduate high school with a Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) license. PHOTO COURTESY OF Jennifer Flores

"

Flores Akins

It’s like we need those people, but it’s a hard path to take. I think it would be, you know, rewarding and heartbreaking at the same time.

Corey Hooks

Science Practicum Teacher

Robotics team competes at VEX World

Student duo plans to travel to Dallas this spring for a world wide robotics championship

Sophia Sanchez Feature Editor

Controls in hand, senior Joseph Weiss, and junior Carson Roman place their robot down for the World VEX Robotics Competition.

For both students, their passion for robotics was evident at a young age. However, Weiss began to experiment with design and coding as young as four years old.

“I was really little when my interest in robots started,”

Weiss said. “I just thought that robots looked cool. I would draw them a lot but I didn’t really actually get into building until I was seven. My dad owned an air conditioning business and we had a bunch of broken air conditioners lying around and I would always go and take them apart.” Taking an interest in robotics set Roman on the path to hone in on his skills inside and outside of school.

“During my first year of middle school, I had joined the robotics class,” Roman said. “I talked with people and I started to get into the whole design process. The main thing that’s kept me there is the people that are in the club as well. Everyone there is super into robotics, so they’re not super competitive about playing the game. They’re more interested in seeing cool robots and seeing how they can fare against other robots which are cool.”

Roman and Weiss met through the robotics club and quickly built a friendship alongside their robots. According to Weiss their skills complement one another’s and played a significant factor into the success of their robot at competition.

There’s this one design that Joseph had come up with that genuinely I don’t think I’ll ever get over,” Roman said. “So it actually uses the tension of like, connection pieces in order to spin like, move a lever and then it uses a chain in order to hold it still. So it has downforce so it picks up discs via applying down-force but also isn’t enough to allow it to move away. Super cool. I have no clue how he thought of that. Could have been my accident. I don’t

really care. It’s super cool to watch and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. I’ll probably wind up implementing it into later designs.”

According to club sponsor Mikaylah Schmuck, the students work independently as a group based on their own skills and preferences.

As a sponsor, my role is to handle the paperwork for club budget and competition registration, but I am very hands off for any robot builds,” Schmuck said.

“What I find interesting about the robot that Carson and Jo -

"seph have built together is how they have worked to modify and perfect it after each competition. They truly learn from each competition what works and what doesn’t and adjust their robot based on that.” The Vex robot competition gives contestants a game mode to code, build, or practice with the robot the team built in order to compete with other teams. There are multiple fields of robotics such as skills where the contestant plays by themselves and the field where teams play against one another to score points. The

team field focuses on what was accomplished with building the robot and its skills.

“They were both very involved in the initial design and build but now Joseph is working on code and Carson’s focus is on networking with the other teams,” Robotics teacher Kris Maniscalo said. “The evolution of their robot since the beginning of the year is really impressive. In the first competition, they weren’t able to launch any discs. Now, they not only launch them with over 80% accuracy, but are working on autonomous programming,

approaching 100%.”

"Going against teams from across the state can be a nerve racking experience. Despite this pressure, the team continued to pursue their goals of succeeding in competition.

It was a really surreal experience even getting into the world competition, actually making it that far because I didn’t expect that.

Joseph

“Getting to state and a height on a high school level was super important to me,” Roman said.

“That was awesome. Let alone making it to the world which I’m still astonished about. We beat a team that I really idolize. They ’ve always been better than us. We

had every odds stacked against us and still beat them. Actually during the tournament we were known as the Black Horse after facing adversity. It was pretty cool.”

The world competition will be taking place April 25 to May 4. As the days tick by, the team continues to upgrade to their robot.

“I’ve been working on getting everything ready,” Weiss said. “I’m the only one on the team who knows how to code. I’m trying to make an autonomous thing that makes the robot pick up the disks on its own for a portion of the competition called coding skills, which is a whole method of just letting the robot do whatever it does without you touching the controller. It’s a little difficult to code all of that, especially with all the math involved.”

According to Roman, observing and getting to know other teams during competition provides great insight for future construction and functions of robots.

“I had seen a robot design that used four wheels and a unique orientation that allowed them to strafe left and right rather than just driving forward and backward,” Roman said.

“Then you’ll start thinking of ways to actually score for the game. It’s always either more or less difficult than last year, which I find really fun, because there’s always a super creative way to progress through the game. The best part is to have that revelation that this will work.”

As the students continue to approach the world competition they hope that this experience will continue to drive their passion for robotics and help them gain more experience in the industry.

“It was a really surreal experience even getting into the world competition,” Weiss said, “and actually making it that far because I didn’t expect that. It was crazy. Now I’m mostly just excited to meet people because the teams are from all around the world. I mean there’s a team from some country in Africa but they just happen to have the same team name as us and everything, which is crazy.”

Senior captures photos for the FLX ATX media website

Donna Kim Dispatch Reporter

As the ball is sent flying across the field by Bowie football players, senior Jaci Wylie holds her camera ready to get the perfect shot of the touchdown. She is on the sideline, making sure she gets clear shots and videos to upload onto FLXATX, an organization that videos sports events to showcase the talented teams of Austin-area high schools.

FLXATX started out as an Instagram account under the name of Fanstand run by Snupe Daniel. There, he would upload videos of sports games to bring attention to teams in the Austin area. Now, FLXATX is one of the most well-known high school sports coverage organizations in Central Texas, maintaining an impressive website, a podcast, and outstanding media coverage.

Having been recruited in middle school, Jaci Wylie has been part of the FLXATX team and started her official training in her freshman year. Now, she is a skilled videographer and helps with media coverage for the organization.

“I found out about FLX through my dad. My brother played football when he went to Bowie, and my dad was

always on the field taking pictures,”

Wylie said. “My dad met Snupe during a game, and they started talking. After a while, I met him and he asked my dad if I would be interested in doing the videoing when I get to high school, and I said I was. After that, it kind of just stuck.”

Working for FLXATX requires skills in photography, videoing, and editing. To represent FLXATX to the best of her abilities, Wylie makes sure to always come prepared.

“I am an ireporter, meaning I go to sports events and video them,” Wylie said. “After the games, sometimes I will interview the players that I think had the most impact on the game.”

Jaci’s father, Joe Wylie, has had a major impact on Jaci’s career in FLXATX. Starting out as a volunteer to take photos of his eldest son during

his football games, Joe met with Daniel, which started Jaci’s career with FLXATX.

"“Snupe was very personable and had a passion for what he was creating. FLX hadn’t been built up to where it is today, but I could see how much he was pouring into his work” Joe said. “His drive and the fact that he cares about the kids who he covers and wants to put a spotlight on them so that they know that they’re being recognized is a big reason as to why he has been and will continue to be successful.” As her parent, Joe makes sure to provide useful insight and tips to help Jaci provide the best coverage for FLX. “I’ll offer pointers and make suggestions on certain angles or areas of focus on or off of the playing surface. I’ll also look over her footage before it gets sent off to Snupe,” Joe said. “However, as time has progressed, there’s less that I feel that I need to mention because she has become a very capable videographer.”

Working for FLXATX requires plenty of time, so as a full time high school student, time management is crucial to Jaci.

“I go to school, FLX, and I have another job, so it can be tricky managing my time. After school, typically on Tuesdays and Fridays I play video games for FLX, and every other day I work at my other job,” Jaci said. “It does change depending on if a game has to get rescheduled, and it also changes depending on what sport is in season. For instance, seven-on-seven football is played on weekends, which means I have to take time off from my other job to be at the games/ tournaments.

Working for FLXATX requires certain skills that not everyone will possess. It is a communicative based job that is best suited for sociable people.

“For this job, you must be able to use a camera for starters. You have to have great people skills and know

at least the basics of the sports you are videoing. You need to have people skills to go up and talk to players as well as parents,” Jaci said. “You also must know about the sport in order to come up with questions to ask the players. Good skills to have are communication skills and confidence. It is good to have communication skills in order to have a good relationship and vibe with the players on the field or court. The confidence comes into play because you need to present yourself as if you know what you are doing, even if you don’t.”

Now as a major sportscasting organization, FLXATX can bring forth many opportunities, as well as choices for future careers.

“FLXATX has most definitely influenced my decisions for college as well as a career,” Jaci said. “Before I started, I wanted to be an event planner or some sort of hotel management,

but since then I have found my true passion and what I want to do in the future.”

FLX covers a total of 57 sports teams from schools around the Austin area. All high school sports are covered, but football is the most followed.

“So in high school, you are specific to one school. I have only videoed Bowie, but in college, I will be going to any school that Snupe needs someone at, whether it be high school or college,” Jaci said.

Since working for FLX, Jaci has built up her skills of a videographer, communicator, and achiever.

“It has definitely been fun sharing space on the sideline with her over the past couple of years and I’m going to miss that part,” Joe said. “ Snupe has been a good mentor for her and has influenced her enough that she is focused on looking into career opportunities in this field.”

BOBOT THE ROBOT: Junior Carson Roman (left), and Senior Joseph Weis (right) will compete at Dallas for the VEX World Championship. Their team, Alpha Entity, has refined their robot over the past couple of months to prepare for each round and section they will be competing in.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Carson Roman

LOOKING THROUGH THE LENS: Senior Jaci Wylie takes a photo for the FLXATX media website. Wylie was introduced to photo journalism through her brother and father, and feels that her passion for sports continues to grow. PHOTO COURTESY OF Jaci Wylie

As time has progressed there’s less I need to mention because she has become a very capable videographer.

Joe Wylie Parent

Weiss Senior

The main thing that I think carried us to state was actually our autonomy during the state competition, almost no other rivaled ours.

Carson Roman Junior

BULLDOG FOOTBALL: Wylie started off as a volunteer photographer for FLXATX, taking photos of her brothers football games, capturing action shots of all the players. Now she regularly takes pictures of the football team, like the one above. PHOTO COURTESY OF Jaci Wylie

Students volunteer for Science Day

DRY ICE SPHERE: First graders gather around a bubble made of dry ice and carbon dioxide, held by a student volunteer. The carbon dioxide reacts with the dry ice through the hose, forming a sphere at the end. “The kids loved the dry ice bubble, they thought it was so cool. It is very rewarding to see them love something the department worked so hard to set up,” sophomore Haden Barnett said.

Student

Dry ice forming shapes, human sized bubbles being made and acidic tablets creating popping lids on plastic containers, the science classrooms fill with laughter and joy as first graders run through exciting science experiments led by Bowie student volunteers. Kids were running around from station to station wanting to see every experiment they could.

Every spring, the Bowie science department hosts first grade science classes from Clayton Elementary and Mills Elementary schools to come into high school science rooms and do fun experiments. Bowie students volunteer to help conduct the experiments and take the first graders to the different classrooms.

“I went to Bowie and did this when I was younger and I thought it’d be super cool if I helped out with the kids because I love science,” junior Brylee Bays said.

“The kids can get an understanding of science at Bowie and have something fun to look forward to.”

The first graders stayed with their classes and worked with the student volunteers to participate in the experiments, but also learned how they work and the science behind them. From the anatomy of

the eye to making elephant toothpaste, the kids got to see examples of many different kinds of science.

“The kids were so excited about every different thing and wanted to learn all about it. It is very rewarding to see how happy they are about something you did,”

sophomore Haden Barnett said.

The Bowie Science department made sure first graders could interact with all experiments and have fun doing them, so the department decided craft-based experiments was the best option; one of the experiments that the kids enjoyed most was led by sophomore Hayden Barnett and sophomore Knox Cannon. The experiment was a shaken mixture of water and acidic tablets that popped the lid off the small plastic container they were mixed in.

“I wanted the kids to be hands-on with the experiment, so after explaining the directions, I let them pour the water into the

"containers then I added the acidic tablets. They were so excited to be a part of the experiment, and they actually understood the reaction the substances made,” Barnett said. “They were absolutely shocked that the lid used in the experiment went so high in the air. Science Day has been a Bowie tradition since the 90s. This year was the first one since the day before Austin Independent School District shut down due to COVID in March of 2020. Bowie has always hosted some of the elementary schools that feed into Bowie. Over the years the school boundaries have changed so the schools invited changed too.

“I think this experience will encourage the kids to stay involved in science through their school lives. Some of the kids were telling me they can’t wait to do the experiment when they are in high school,” Barnett said. “This showed the kids many different aspects of science and that science can be very hands-on and fun.”

PHOTO BY Arden Ray

LIFE SIZED BUBBLE: Sophomore Sophia Thollander pulls a hula hoop dipped in dish soap and water over a first grader to create a huge bubble. This experiment was very popular for every first grade class, there was a huge line of kids wanting to be wrapped in bubbles. “All of the kids loved the giant bubble, and had a lot of fun being inside the bubble and popping it. Some of them even said the giant bubble was their favorite station,” Thollander said. PHOTO BY Arden Ray

BLOWING BUBBLES: A first grader blows triangle shaped bubbles with the tool that he made from plastic straws and string. Many of the experiment stations were craft based so the kids could be interactive with them. “The kids were so static about all of the experiments. It brought me so much joy,” junior Brylee Bays said.

PHOTO BY Arden Ray

MAKE IT POP: Sophomore Haden Barnett shows first graders an exciting experiment with water and acidic tablets that create an explosive reaction. Bowie science teachers choose the experiments for their students to lead the kids through. “It was fun to work with my teacher outside of class and not related to school work. I also loved seeing all the schools participating, just very fun overall,” Barnett said. PHOTO BY Arden Ray

Arden Ray

Photo Essay Editor

The kids seemed really excited to be there, so I hope that keeps them excited about science.

Sophie Thollander Sophomore

volunteers capture young minds as they share striking scientific shows at elementary schools

THE GAP YEAR

Students choose to take different paths following graduating

idea and plan of what I want to get in return,” Ospina said. “Having to pay for most of my own tuition just makes you really think about the value of a traditional path. Most of my family got a traditional four-year college education. Not a single one of them is currently using their diploma, and with how expensive school is nowadays it is simply not smart to go just because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Along with saving money, a gap year may give students a positive outlook on their lives.

“For me, the biggest benefit is being able to really figure out what my plan in college is,” Ospina said. “Having time to know myself as an adult I feel would help guide me in the direction I want to go.”

As he scrolls through his Instagram feed, senior Kian Yates sees post after post of his classmates’ college decisions. He begins to think of his future. Though he is proud and supportive of his friends, he does not doubt his decision to go down a different path.

“My primary objective after graduating high school is to travel to Europe, more specifically my ancestral country of France,” Yates said. “I'll be joining some passionate volunteering groups while picking up the language and learning the culture.”

More commonly, graduating high school students decide to complete a four-year degree plan. This entails leaving for college the fall semester following graduation. Though most popular,

ART BY Ava Wong 1

2 3

to travel, start my own business, and spend time with my loved ones,” Ospina said. “For the business, I plan to start building my photography into a full time job that yields good profits.”

for everyone. There are other paths that individuals can be just as successful in.”

this is not the only path for students.

“I chose to leave America to experience something new and different from what I've been accustomed to,” Yates said. “I want to challenge myself to break out of my comfort zone and explore. So, going out of the country was the clear choice.”

One of many alternative options is taking a gap year like Yates. A gap year, in terms of high school, is when a student takes a year after graduating high school to work, travel, volunteer, etc. After the year, they will enroll in a university or community college.

Trust your own instincts, only you can choose how you will inevitably turn out so don't let others make that choice.

“Students may want to take a gap year to give themselves more time to figure out who they are and what they want to do in life,” student Counselor Laura Rodriguez said. “They may want to give themselves some time to save money for college, try out working in a certain career field, or give themselves more time to make a decision on which university they want to attend.”

Kian Yates Senior

As Rodriguez mentioned, there are many different paths within the idea of a gap year. Senior Nic Ospina is an example of that, his gap year plans differing greatly from Yates’.

“My plans after graduation are

Though the decision to take a gap year after graduation may be uncommon, it is not completely unheard of. The Gap Year Association, a nonprofit that helps students access gap year opportunities, estimates that on average, between 40,000 and 60,000 students take a gap year every school year in America. Compared to the American high school student population of 17.2 million, that is still a very small number.

“We do not have very many Bowie students that take a gap year,” Rodriguez said. “The majority of our students attend a four-year university or community college right after high school.”

The small number of gap year students may be attested to strong societal pressures to attend a four-year university right after high school.

“There is definitely an immense pressure on those who are graduating high school to immediately apply and attend a four year university,” Yates said. “I can attest to this as I, myself, have not been encouraged to take the gap year by many, even my family. Though I believe there is some merit in encouraging one to pursue their education, I also believe that us students have been in the public school system for most if not all of our memorable life and deserve a period of time to find our passion and eventually the path we will follow into adulthood.”

Students may also be deterred from taking a gap year out of fear of being behind their peers academically and socially. Some might fear missing out on certain college experiences their friends are having and the witness in the media.

“It's embedded in the media and everywhere,” Rodriguez said. “The reality is that everyone is different and that might not be the best option

Research your options: What are you seriously considering? What is the best option for you? How will this decision ultimately effect your life?

Talk to your community: family members, friends, teachers and mentors. What do the people around you think is best for you?

Reach out to counselors: Bowie counselors are here to help. Contact the college and careers counselor, Ms. Valverde - carli.valverde@austinisd.org

Yates believes that a college degree is something society puts pressure on students to get. Much of how a society judges a person based on the degrees they have obtained, or not.

“Pressure on youth relates to university being a consistent source of stability for the future,” Yates said.

“It's quite hard to get a decent paying job without a college degree in this day and age. Whether that be for better or worse, I'm not sure.”

Another prospect that may bring students and parents fear of taking a gap year is the possibility that the student may decide not to go to college after their time out of an academic setting.

In an interview Joe O’Shea, Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Florida State University did with the U.S. News, he remarked that a gap year can better prepare a student for college. He commented that the natural break between high school and college is the ideal time for students to reflect and explore their options moving forward.

"O’Shea notes that gap years students will get a broader sense of the world and their place in it, helping to nurture students with motivation and purpose that can animate their college experience.

We want to support any path that students are considering as long as they have a plan.

Laura Rodriguez School Counselor

“Statistically, students that take a gap year are less likely to attend a four-year university than those that attend right after high school,” Rodriguez said. “I think that the reason is because of the decline of momentum. It's more difficult to jump back in rather than keep going.”

According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college tuition in the U.S. for undergraduate students has more than tripled, multiplying by 3.15 times over that last 58 years. In 2022, the average is $35,551 per student per year. For many students, the substantial cost of higher education may not be worth it, especially with the uncertainty of how useful the degree will be in the long run. To Ospina, the pros of taking a gap year outweigh the cons.

“For me I chose a non-traditional plan because I simply cannot afford to go to college without a concrete

“No one should expect to fully figure themselves out from a gap year, but just one year to clear your mind and set a path or goal for yourself has statistically shown improvements in academic success later,” Yates said.

Students thinking of taking a gap year need to determine how it will ultimately help them, and what the best path is for them.

“Talk to the adults in your life and explore all of the available options,” Rodriguez said. “Take career assessments. You may be surprised at your results and learn about career paths that you may not have originally considered. It's okay if you don't know exactly what you want to do. Most adults have been there before, it just takes time and it's all trial and error. Try things out. If it doesn't work out, it's okay, try something else.”

According to Yates, it is important to stay true to yourself when making plans for your future.

“Trust your own instincts, only you can choose how you will inevitably turn out so don’t let others make that choice," Yates said.

making your plan

3% of American students take a gap year before college annually 10% more of high-income students pursue college than lower-income students

of students begin college once their gap year is complete

SOURCE TD Ameritrade

COMBATING DISCRIMINATION

Ruth Ann WIdner, who is in charge of campus improvement, walks through three policies pertaining to keeping Bowie a more equitable place for all

- Is a strategy that gives participants four easy-to-remember ways to respond to bias or hateful language.

Speak up Bowie Equity Council SOAR

- We’ve also created Speak Up classroom posters as a cue to students to “interrupt, question, educate, or echo” when they hear hurtful words or observe hurtful actions on campus.

- Empowers students to develop a campus vision for promoting inclusivity. They serve as liaisons to the district, review campus policies for equity concern.

- Students Organized for Anti-Racism (SOAR) invites students to join a student cohort that meets weekly to discuss issues related to cultural proficiency and inclusivity.

- Assistant Principal Hector Munoz and Lead Counselor Nicole Hepburn are working to reignite this group in light of Covid-19

- Participating students use the book This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work to guide their talks.

THE ROAD TO INCLUSIVITY

Combating discrimination, Bowie initiatives form to promote community

Isabella del Nido

Editor-in-Chief

are facing.”

SURVEYING STUDENTS & STAFF

2,123 students & staff were surveyed in 2022 about AISD’s climate here are some of the results:

17% of staff members believe district leaders solve problems

68% of staff members believe the school helps staff speak out against racism

24%

In one conversation, a student now has the ability to catalyze change. Empowered to promote inclusivity, students can use school extracurriculars and resources to amplify their voices. Protecting individual student rights and campus wide policies has become more accessible to any student interested.

SOAR, or Students Organized for Anti-Racism sponsor Masie Martin, who has been a teacher at Bowie for seven years, was in charge of a SOAR group last year. According to Martin, there were students in her group who had faced discrimination at some point in their time at Bowie.

Sophomore Bubba Infante has been a part of SOAR for one year. Infante shares how his involvement with the program has helped him.

“Being a part of SOAR has definitely benefited me in the sense that it has put me on a platform to openly speak about racism/ discrimination within our community,” Infante said. “With all honesty, I am lucky enough to say that Bowie’s anti-discriminatory policies are effective for me.”

matter what they say.

“I have experienced being discriminated against unfortunately, it was handled quickly and consequences were brought on the other student and am overly thankful for how it was handled,” Infante said. Infante details how he was discriminated against.

through one of these programs would have an individualized learning plan that includes accommodations to help them equitably access the curriculum,” Widener said. “All of this is outlined in federal and state law, so Bowie is required to follow the laws just like any other school.”

things about the Equality Council is that they have a lot of opportunities to advocate for student rights and for marginalized communities.”

27% of students feel like they matter to others at Bowie of students think the behaviour of other students affects their learning

37% of students feel like they belong at Bowie

68% of staff members are optimistic that Bowie will improve in the future

SOURCE Panorama Surveys

“SOAR groups are a way to facilitate conversations about discrimination, especially about race,” Martin said. “These conversations are hard to have in big groups, so SOAR groups typically have around eight-10 student members and two or three faculty sponsors.”

Addressing bias, discrimination, equity and identity in an after school organization can give students a space to open up about their personal experiences and work towards a place of understanding, growth and action.

According to DoSomething. org, 15.8% of students in America reported experiencing racebased bullying or harassment, and in that survey it found a correlation between racial bullying and negative mental and physical health among students.

“I think one way discrimination can affect students’ education is their sense of belonging,” Martin said.

The Policies page provides guidance to the campus administrators about how they must respond to reported incidents of racism Ruth Widner School Improvement

“SOAR groups meet weekly or every other week and have either a book or other resources to help guide the conversation,” Martin said. “This gives students a chance to reflect on their own practices as well as what happens at Bowie and talk about how we can make Bowie a more welcoming place for all.”

The implementation of SOAR opens the conversation for students to actively fight for issues regarding racism and inequality in and out of Bowie. As part of SOAR’s curriculum, all members get access to “This Book is Anti-Racist” by Tiffany Jewell.

“I’ve appreciated that there has been more of a push to talk about this stuff with staff and students in the past couple of years,” Martin said. “I think we need to keep talking about discrimination, both in general and specifically what it looks like at Bowie. I also think it’s important to have a way for students to talk about the difficulties that they

“There is research out there showing that when students feel a sense of community and belonging they are more likely to do well in school; their brains actually process information better. Obviously overt discriminatory behaviors are a problem, but even small microaggressions over time send the message that students aren’t welcome and safe.”

AISD’s “Respect for All” page includes a resource for students and parents to see how all kinds of racism and discrimination are being handled across the district.

According to Ruth Widner, who is in charge of campus improvement, the Policies and Research section of this web-page carefully outlines the Austin Independent School District’s Board policies related to all types of discrimination.

“I’ve noticed that anytime I’ve had problems arise, my teachers have enforced these policies very heavily,” Infante said. “SOAR is helping students who don’t normally speak up get the chance. We’ve built a community where it’s ok to speak your mind and wonder, while also educating and informing one another.”

According to Martin, discrimination often takes the form of students making inappropriate jokes and they believe that as long as they’re joking, it doesn’t

“A certain type of picture of me had been going around and I didn’t know about it until a number of people had already seen it,” Infante said. “It affected me the day I found out considering did have a minor panic attack but afterwards went to my wonderful AP Ms. Black and she helped me take care of it.”

In 2020, Principal Robinson, along with the elementary and middle school principals in AISD expressed their collective commitment to promoting equity on their campuses. They drafted and published an open letter on Bowie’s website displaying a pledge to cultural proficiency.

“Having been a staff member here for about 30 years, I can attest that over the last few years Bowie has increased its efforts to systematically address and stem racism and other forms of harassment,” Widner said. “The arrival of Mr. Robinson six years ago was the catalyst for this shift.”

In the letter, Robinson and the other principles explain that each campus will do its part in opening the conversation on race and provide trusted sources on how parents can educate their children on the world around them.

“He immediately began engaging the staff in professional development on cultural proficiency and challenging the campus leadership team to develop an action plan to improve the overall campus climate,” Widner said. “Various unfortunate events in the news convinced many in our school community that this work was unquestionably necessary.”

According to Widner, there are many ways Bowie is promoting inclusivity and kindness. This includes SOAR.

“Bowie has done a great job accommodating me,” Infante said. “Lots of the staff are familiar with who am and the situations have been involved with and they have provided me with the best assistance and care.”

In addition to making sure every student receives the same quality of education regardless of race. Students with learning disabilities receive guidance through standards put in place by AISD. For example, 504’s.

“Students receiving services

Senior Sami Sagebiel has a 504 related to her dyslexia and dysgraphia. Her disabilities affect her ability to read and write.

According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia, while people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.

“My disability makes it difficult for me to complete quality work in a short amount of time,” Sagebiel said. “My 504 lets me turn in assignments a day late with no penalty. This accommodation makes me feel like I have enough time to turn in work I’m proud of and lets me be able to keep up with the other kids.”

According to Shumate, last year, students on the Bowie Equity Committee got to speak before the school board and talk about issues that really matter to them.

“The man at the district level, who was overseeing it, left last year for a job opportunity at UT,” Shumate said. “The vision we had for this program was really great, with the shifting of positions at the district, the consistency of leadership has made it more challenging to keep the program going and that’s really unfortunate.”

It was really cool to see students last year speaking straight to the school board about issues that really matter to them.

In order to determine eligibility for 504 services, students, parents, or administrators can initiate a 504 referral if they suspect that they have a disability, then their referral will be reviewed by a campus level 504 coordinator.

Whitney Shumate Bowie Equity Committee

“Some of my teachers felt like I didn’t need the accommodation, so I would have to message my assistant principal about it,” Sagebiel said. “But honestly as long as you stand up for yourself and your rights it’s fine.”

In addition to Bowie’s mission to provide equal learning, a team of over 40 faculty and staff members titled “Bowie’s Equity Committee” meet to examine policies and practices throughout the campus.

“The Equity Council was a really cool opportunity,” 2021-22 Bowie Equity Committee Chair Whitney Shumate said. “Last year we had four students who came pretty consistently and the goal was to try to find students who have a lot of leadership potential, but might not always get the opportunity like students who are involved with extracurriculars get. These students are involved in the same way as student council. One of the cool

Despite the hardships, the Bowie Equity Committee continues to push for student advocacy.

“I think that what’s really effective is that it has a specific structure that tells the adults on campus what students really seek out,” Shumate said. “I think that a lot of the structures of our organizations don’t necessarily make room for students and so I think the cool thing about Equity Council is that it has that structure built in that specifically seeks out students who get knocked over and so then you give them opportunities to really shine and grow.”

Shumate now runs the SOAR program. In reflecting on SOAR’s ability to make students passionate about inclusivity, Shumate describes her hopes for the program.

“I think if we can get students who are really passionate about anti-racism and like being a part of the movement that can push equity at our school in the way we do and the way that teachers are trained, if we have a group of students who are willing to put in the time, more than a fit session, we can make change,” Shumate said.”

1. Get a complaint form from your counselor or administrator if you feel you are being bullied (including cyberbullied), experiencing sexual harassment or dating violence

2. The complaint form will be reviewed by the principle or designee

3. To ensure confidentiality, the school will only disclose information on a need-to-know basis

SOURCE Austin ISD

Ruth Widner Campus Improvement

ATHLETES SSERT

Bowie alum Elijah Higgins declares for 2023 NFL draft

Elijah Higgins was a star wide receiver for the 'Dawgs from 2016-2019. The first ESPN top-300 recruit and All-American to play for Bowie, Higgins eventually committed to Stanford.

At Stanford, Higgins had a solid career with 118 receptions, 1,382 receiving yards and bringing in six touchdowns. Forgoing the option to declare for the NFL draft following his junior year season, Higgins had an impressive senior season with 59 receptions for 704 yards.

Having now graduated from Stanford, Higgins recently officially declared for the 2023 NFL draft. Prior to the draft though, Higgins was invited to the NFL combine, an event hosted by the league for players to showcase their athletic ability in front of league scouts.

Higgins had an impressive combine by running a 4.54 40 yard dash. Higgins also recorded a 35 inch vertical jump and a 10.6 feet broad jump at the combine. Overall, Higgins ranked as the 14th most athletic wide receiver in the combine by NFL scouts. Additionally, Higgins measured in at 6 foot and 3 inches at 235 pounds.

With some of the best athletic ability and best weight and height measurements among this year’s wide receiver prospects, teams will be eager to select him on the second day of the draft.

I can see Higgins fitting in well with an offense that needs a big, slot wide receiver that can be physical if needed. Higgins is one of the heavier and taller wide receivers in this draft and with the proper training, I could definitely see him transition into a tight end role for teams wanting to run two tight end sets.

If Higgins were to transfer to more of a pass catching tight end role, I feel like it would be great for him. He would create mismatches with linebackers defending him rather than cornerbacks. He has enough speed to take the top off of defenses as well with his exceptionally good route running ability.

My favorite part of Higgins' game is his ability to create separation and his route running ability. Higgins does a great job on giving his quarterbacks enough room to fit the ball in space and it begins with his route running. Higgins has crisp cuts up field as well as tremendous vision to track when and where he needs to be on the field.

Some weaknesses I see with Higgins' game is that he doesn’t have enough break out speed to win on the outside of the field.

Only recording six touchdowns in a 40 game career at Stanford, teams may shy away from a wide receiver that lacks the ability to grab touchdowns.

Furthermore, the NFL is much more physical than college football, and the role he played on Stanford's offense did not allow him to prove himself with contact linebackers. Higgins’ ability to adjust to the physicality and strength of NFL linebackers will be a true testament to his NFL success

Higgins has drawn comparisons from former tight end Jordan Reed. Reed was solid for the once Washington Redskins and had multiple seasons of high production. Their size and ability to catch are very similar.

Two days into the draft, April 29, Higgins joined ex-NFL safety Michael Griffin as the second Bowie player to be drafted into the NFL, as he joined the Miami Dolphins.

Golf shooting for title at district

Season full of individual and team success ends at Wolfdancer Golf Club

Ben Tillisch Sports Editor

Stepping to the first tee box of the district tournament, junior Alex Payne feels the harsh wind whip against his face. Training his eyes on his target, the neatly trimmed fairway of Wolfdancer Golf Club, Payne steadies his breathing.

Drawing his club back, Payne coordinates his effortless swing, striking the ball and sending it hurtling into the air. Fighting the incessant wind, Payne’s first drive of the district tournament finds itself neatly tucked in the fairway.

In preparation for the district tournament, the golf team spent countless practicing and getting comfortable at Wolfdancer Golf Club, the location of the event. Playing in his third district tournament, Payne sought to physically hone his skills and mentally prepare himself for competition.

“We had purposely planned a tournament out at Wolf dancer just to get a feel of the course because they added in four new holes, so we kind of needed to learn those to make sure we knew what we were doing,” Payne said. “And then we had a couple of weeks without tournaments before districts just to help practice and get into the right mindset.”

Played over the course of two days, strong wind characterized both rounds of the district tournament. Payne and the rest of the golf team were forced to adjust and overcome

such unfavorable conditions.

“We got on the range and we warmed up by shooting straight into that wind,” Payne said. “We were able to kind of practice keeping those shots lower so that the winds just didn't move the ball as much, and that definitely helped us out on the course.”

In his seventh year coaching the golf team, head coach Sam Miller connects the difficult conditions to other mental factors the golfers were forced to overcome during the tournament.

“The district tournament is very stressful,” Miller said. “You're competing versus the best players in the district and you want to perform at your best. The course is one of the hardest in the area and the weather this year was not great on day one. So lots of things stack up against you and you just have to get after it and compete.”

Sophomore Knox Cannon also participated in this year’s tournament, representing Bowie at the district level for his second straight year. A key player on the golf team, Cannon recalls how the district tournament compared to other tournaments played throughout the season.

“District is the tournament that matters the most because the stakes are higher, so there is a little more pressure and drive to play better,” Cannon said. “The first day was really hard this year because of the weather, but at the end of the day, you just have to go out and play your best.”

Having played golf competitively since middle school, Cannon describes the importance of mental strength and confidence in golf. Cannon relates these needed traits to his personal preparation for the tournament.

“I practiced a lot and tried to get my mindset focused before the tournament,” Cannon said. “We had won a couple of tournaments over the course of the year, so that helped with our confidence going into the first day.”

Prior to the district tournament, the golf team competed in multiple individual and team events throughout the year. The strong bond they formed during these tournaments has allowed them to better themselves and each other.

“The team has had strong chemistry all year and it has only gotten stronger as the year continued,” Miller said. “They all feed off each other's play and like to compete with one another. But at the end of the

day they all root for each other and support each other.”

The only senior on the team, Jake Cole had a major influence on the team’s environment and performance. Payne reflected on Cole’s impact on the team and the emotions of competing with the senior for his final district tournament.

“Jake's a great guy and he's so fun to be around,” Payne said. “It's crazy that it's already been three years and it's already behind us, but he kept a positive outlook. He had a great second day too, so I think he finished the season on a good note and it was a good run for him for sure.”

Coaching the senior in his last tournament for the golf team, Coach Miller reflects on Cole's time with the 'Dawgs.

“Jake and I go back to his freshman year which was basically my first full year as head golf coach,” Miller said. “I have watched him hit some incredible shots over his high school golf career and seen him shoot some low scores. I was so happy for him to finish his career

having a day to remember.”

Despite a disappointing conclusion to a successful season, Miller is looking forward to returning four varsity golfers that can help the team once again compete at a high level. With only one varsity spot to fill and an experienced team, Miller hopes to build on this past season. In doing so, the golf team plans to compete past the district tournament next year and challenge for the regional and state titles.

“With so many young players that can compete at the varsity level, they are gaining great experience in each tournament,” Miller said. “We still have some great upper-class players with plenty of tournament experience that they passed along to the young players. But finishing this year so close to the top guns like Lake Travis and Westlake, I feel confident that they know they can compete with the best and get to that next level.”

*Additional interviews and contributions by Michael Vienneau

Battleground returns to campus with Nerf war

Michael Vienneau Dispatch Reporter

Bowie Nerf is a tradition where several teams and players compete in a nerf battle. Formatted in a bracket, teams advance by eliminating the opposing team. Matched with a new opponent each week, only one team comes out on top.

This year 96 teams and over 450 players entered in the nerf battle. The organizers of this year's Nerf battles are seniors Wesley York and Aaron Gall.

“My role as a Nerf war organizer is to make sure everyone plays by rules,” Gall said. “If there are any disagreements my job is to try and resolve them. We encourage teams to get film so they have proof if anyone is eliminated. There is always an alibi which also makes it easier. If there is a tie between teams or a disagreement between teams it is almost always settled with a coin flip.”

The tradition started in 2019 when Bowie Alumni Riley McIntyre and Teagen Lopez put together the event as a light hearted game for anybody interested. Last year there were only 64 teams compared to this year's whopping 96 teams.

“I don’t think Nerf war is at all a dying culture at Bowie. The future of nerf is looking great,” Gall said. “I hope that this tradition continues for a long time. I think everyone enjoys it and the teachers and administrators don’t seem to have much of a problem with it.”

Similar to “March Madness” nerf war is constructed in a bracket style-winner moves on format. Once a team loses,

they are eliminated and do not advance to the next round. Junior Jaya Kulkarni is participating in her first ever nerf war for the “Badussy Bombers.”

“Every day is super stressful but also a lot of fun,” Kulkarni said. “My team had several controversial moments which led to tons of drama and arguments.”

There is a long list of rules that take place during Nerf war. There is no shooting allowed on campus for safety and security reasons, but once players leave campus and school property, anything is fair game. “Me and my team spent hours camping at our enemy team's house,” Kulkarni said. “Once [they] came out we shot

them and got the elimination which felt really good because it would have been a waste of our team's time.”

Teams contain five players each, and each team is given an opponent to play against each week. As soon as the round ends, whichever team has the most players left moves on to the next round where they face a new opponent. Sophomore Brandon Chou is a part of the team “Cappin and Trappin,” which was eliminated in the second round.

“The younger teams are definitely at a big disadvantage,” Chou said. “Not having a license makes everything more difficult, even though I have friends who drive me, it is way harder to get eliminations when you can’t go after people yourself. When you play against the seniors who can all drive, it makes it easier to get tracked down by any of them.”

With only 16 teams left, tensions are rising as more and more teams are getting eliminated. The competition is bigger than ever and players and spectators alike are anxious to see who wins. The “Sweet 16” started April 9 and the teams are currently battling it out. The schedule for the rest of the war can be found on the “bowienerf23” Instagram page, which is run by Gall and York.

“I think the “Mighty Fine Men” are going to win,” Chou said. “The whole team is super competitive and I think they want it more than anyone else. But I do think anything can happen, since the time periods are so short really any team can get lucky and win which makes it so fun and competitive.”

FOLLOWING THROUGH: Sophomore Knox Cannon aims for the green with an iron shot. In his second appearance, Cannon successfully competed in the district tournament.

PHOTO BY Nicolas Ospina

GET IN THE HOLE: Junior Alex Payne putts the ball. In harsh weather conditions, the golf team attempted to take advantage of their putting abilities to gain strokes on other teams.

PHOTO BY Nick Wood

ART BY Dimitri Silva

Zachary Scariano Dispatch Reporter

Winding up for the shot, junior Jake Ciccarello sees the opening. As the ball soars into the back of the net, the crowd roars cheers of approval. Ciccarello just tipped the first domino in the descent of Lake Travis’s district hopes.

With a seven game win streak, the Bowie Bulldogs aim to win by two against Lake Travis. Having lost 2-1 against them earlier in the season, Bowie needed a goal deficit of plus two if they wanted to secure the district trophy.

“I was so happy because I knew that we needed to win that game to win district, and getting one on the board helped us so much, and I was just praying to God that we were gonna score one more,” Ciccarello said. “I did my part and Matt DeVaney did his, with 14 second left in the game scoring a second goal.”

DeVaney put the second hand on the trophy shortly before the end of the game with a break away run. Given that Bowie had the same record as Lake Travis, the district championship would come down to who scored more goals during the game.

“I think that stepping up in the first leg of the Lake Travis game was what solidified my position on the team as well as our hopes of the championship,” Ciccarello said.

Senior team captain Alex Luck plays a vital role on the defensive line. Luck tells us about the final goal and the atmosphere that followed.

“I remember the play originally started with 30 seconds left,” Luck said. “They were taking a corner kick, and at that point, I thought the chances of scoring were pretty low. If they tied the game there they would

Sam Vane Sports Editor

have won district and celebrated right in front of us.”

The corner kick was a pivotal moment in the game, with tension at its highest. This one play would define the seasons of both Bowie and Lake Travis and all playoff implications for both teams.

“I said to myself, we can’t let them celebrate in front of us. The ball came

On his last lap, senior Zach Munger glides through the track. He keeps pushing, only focusing on the sounds of his footsteps hitting the track. With the finish line in sight, he finishes

in and our goalie, Kaleo, punched it out towards Leo who started breaking away,” Luck said. “I thought, oh my God, this actually has a chance. Leo turned to cut back in and found DeVaney.”

After the second goal, the team held a defensive line for the last 14 seconds of the game, keeping the final score 2-0 and securing the number

strong, looking up to see the time of a new Bowie record for the 4x800 relay.

Senior Evan MacGregor, the first runner in the relay, has had big aspirations leading up to the relay race.

“We knew we had the record in the bag before

one position in district.

“We have never been more excited than that moment, the energy was like nothing I have ever seen before,” senior Nico Colegrove said.

Colegrove is a starting left winger on the team. While getting tired he continues to perform at the same level consistently.

“My legs get so tired throughout

the race even started,” MacGregor said. “I was confident in all four of our guys to do well and it worked out that way.”

MacGregor wasn’t new to this type of race, with his years of practice, he learned to start off strong and get the best start for his team.

“I’ve been racing this race since middle school,” MacGregor said. “I know my limits, and I know myself and when to push myself and when not to.”

MacGregor is one of the two seniors who run the 4x800, the others being junior Henry Janes and Munger, who is proud of how far the team has come.

“It takes many years to build up a program where you have a bunch of solid guys,” Munger said. “I’m pleased with where we are as a team.”

MacGregor, who isn’t lacking in confidence, had much trust in himself and Munger before the race.

“I went first leg, and Zach went last leg,” MacGregor said. “We’re the best Bowie has ever been in track. So leading off the first leg and running 1:55, I knew I was setting us up for success and knew Zach was going to finish with a good time in the end.”

Each spot in the 4x800 has a meaning; the first and last guy are usually the best two, with the second and third runners up for preference. The third runner, junior Kaiser Kothmann, was as shocked as anyone when he found out they broke the record.

“I was genuinely surprised because I didn’t think we had that good of a team, and we hadn’t been practicing that much for relays,” Kothmann

the course of the game but my mind stays sharp,” Colegrove said. “If I make one mistake because of fatigue then that could cost us the whole game, it’s all about the small moments.”

The team’s main goal is to come back and win district again next year. Ciccarello tells us about the difficulties they may have in the 2023-2024 season.

“We’ve already started working hard again,” Ciccarello said. “We had 23 seniors graduate this year so it’s gonna be difficult but I know we’re going to come back stronger than ever because we want Lake Travis’ spot more than ever now.”

While seven seniors intend to continue their career as players in college, some of the seniors played their last game against Stoney Point in the first round of the playoffs.

“I intend on playing for Southwestern for my college career and hope that if I keep working hard enough that I will get scouted for the professional leagues,” Colegrove said.

With the season at an end, the departure of many friends and mentors can be difficult for the underclassmen. Many of the players will not see each other again after this year.

“I just want to say thank you to all the seniors that helped me this year, they are what will shape the team we are next year,” Ciccarello said.

Coach Ryan Logan lead the team this season, and played a role in every one of Bowie’s games. Colegrove talks about the way that the coaching affected the way the team played.

“Coach Logan has had a huge effect on the players’ mindsets as well as their physicality,” Colegrove said. “Logan’s coaching has really helped us learn a lot more during the year and season.”

said.

Kothmann wasn’t the only one who was surprised as Munger was also shocked by the result.

“When I look at the talent on the team this year compared to last year, you could say we were better last year,” Munger said. “So, the fact that we shattered our previous record by almost 15 seconds is crazy.”

This wasn’t by accident however as Munger and the rest of the Bulldogs have been doing extensive work to try and break the record.

“We’ve been doing endurance work for about a year now,” Munger said. “And for the last four or five months, we’ve just been focusing on the speed aspect to hone our skills.”

While breaking the relay record is essential, it does more for the team than just putting them in a record book.

“I was super happy with the team, and I know that was a huge confidence booster going into the postseason for us because it’s all coming together,” Munger said. “When you start dropping times without even trying that hard, you know that big things are on the way and I’m really excited about what the postseason holds for us.”

With the postseason on the horizon, MacGregor thinks big things are coming but knows they won’t be easy.

“State is always the goal for us,” MacGregor said. “It’s a little harder, because only the top two runners make it for each event, and if you have some guy who’s very fast in your region, which we do, it makes it tougher because only one spot is open.”

IN MY HOUSE: Junior Griffin Crawley thwarts the Anderson attack. The Bulldogs ended up winning 3-1 against the Trojans

a triumphant victory. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

PHOTO & ART BY Zach Scariano

Delicious tradition returns to campus

Culinary students prepare silent auction and dinner to raise money for next school year

Charlotte Koellner Entertainment Editor

The clang of metal pans, shouts from culinary students, and the comforting chaos of the kitchen envelope the group as they add the finishing touches to their guests’ plates.

After the event’s three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bowie’s culinary department has brought back the return of their gourmet dinner and silent auction fundraiser The entire night required months of preparation and was all student conducted.

“It required a lot of organizing and communicating. The first step was getting all of the students on different committees,” Chef Kathryn Bugni said. “I would say it was an entire semester worth of work.”

The students were divided into various sized crews and assigned specific responsibilities during the time leading up to the event.

There’s the front of the house crew, that’s gonna be your hostesses and waitstaff. They’re focused on the dining room and decorations. Then there’s the back of the house crew, which is focused on finding recipes and master-cooking them, or increasing the yield,” Bugni said. “Then the auction was a whole separate committee and they had to reach out to businesses and ask them to donate items for the evening.”

Bugni is a Bowie Bulldog alumni, as well as a former culinary club student. Returning to Bowie to teach culinary, and now being able to participate in this event once again, has a special meaning to her “I did a similar event my senior year.

We called it Gourmet Night and we also did a silent auction,” Bugni said. “So, it’s historically been done to raise some extra money for equipment, but yeah, with COVID we weren’t able to do this, so we’re finally bringing it back after a two or three year pause.”

In addition to Bugni’s guidance, senior club presidents Paige Watson and Dante Campero-Campion helped organize the event and ensure food preparation was running on time.

“I had a lot more administrative tasks. I wrote the menu, made the advertisements, made flower arrangements and decorations and more of that thing,” Watson said. “Dante kind of oversaw the kitchen. He administered food production and made sure everything was going smoothly and that people were on task.”

Due to their leadership, Bugni was able to take a step back and truly have a student-led kitchen like she had hoped for.

“Our class is meant to be a student-led restaurant and bake shop. At the beginning of the year, it’s a lot less student-led because they’re learning how to work in the kitchen,” Bugni said. “They’re learning the basics of safety and sanitation, and it’s a lot more hand holding at the beginning of the year. My goal was to be able to, in the last nine weeks, really take a step back.”

The nights earnings will benefit the program in a variety of ways, by funding not only ingredients used to

prepare the evenings meal and future bake sales, but also the much needed equipment replacements for future generations of culinary students.

“A lot of our equipment is 20 plus years old, so it’s slowly dying. We need a new 20 quart mixer, so that’s definitely high up on the list. Some new ovens would be nice eventually, and also an industrial size rice cooker,” Chef Kathryn Bugni said. “Most of these equipment pieces are thousands of dollars, so we accumulate money over the years and replace items as we need.”

The silent auction brought in most of the money, consisting of items from local businesses and restaurants. Items ranged from river bat tours on town lake to pilates coupons. All of these donations were a result of the student auction committee reaching out to businesses.

Sophia

“It was a little embarrassing, but I called a bunch of businesses and asked

people to donate items to the silent auction, and just waited a while to receive an email back,” junior Sophia Dargahi said. “A few of them said yes. My favorite business to reach out to was Kendra Scott.”

Working in a kitchen has taught students to adapt on the spot, and the fundraiser night was no exception. Due to a quick change in weather, there were some adjustments made, and the students had to move the event inside with a few hours notice.

“The whole build up to the evening was really stressful,” Watson said. “I was mostly stressed that there wouldn’t be enough people interested in coming, and then we had to move everything inside. It was supposed to be in the courtyard, but we had to move it inside and make a lot of changes like cancel the jazz band.”

Outside students may not view culinary as a challenging class without knowing what goes on behind the scenes. However, the students in culinary can attest that it still has its difficulties and valuable lessons.

“It’s not like it’s not a challenging class, but it’s challenging in a different way than, let’s say, AP US History, or OnRamps Pre-calculus” Dargahi said. “It’s a very different class than the others I’m taking and it acts as a kind of ‘brain break.’”

Culinary can be differentiated from core classes by the increased amount of student involvement required for each class.

“I’ve definitely gotten better at working with others which is something I tend to struggle with,” Dargahi said. “I tend to either take an extreme backseat or be way too controlling. Culinary has helped me improve that.”

For the remainder of the school year, the classes will continue to sell $2 and $3 items each Thursday in the courtyard as they get ready for next school year. As the seniors prepare to graduate, they look back at their time in the Bowie culinary program as more than a bake shop.

“Culinary has definitely made me a better leader. It’s helped me be able to deal with problems and find solutions,” Watson said. “We do experience a couple of mishaps, so figuring out how to recover is essential. Even just from a high school culinary class, it’s definitely taught me a lot of life lessons.”

Theatre students earn first place for UIL competition

Amilia Velez Dispatch Reporter

Lights, Camera, Action. Junior Sophia Chavez takes a deep breath and transforms into her character before hitting the stage.

The Bowie Starlight Theatre Company (STC) had a select group of students perform the piece Violet Sharp through the University Scholastic League competition (UIL). The UIL one-act-play company advanced to 6A area, further than Bowie has gone in years.

“The show we performed was Violet Sharp which is based on a true story about the Lindberg baby kidnapping,” senior Emma Flores said. “It follows Violet who was a servant in the house and was also the main kidnap suspect.”

According to Flores, the show Violet Sharp has been done multiple times by different casts and is a popular show for small groups.

“Violet Sharp was a very serious and emotional script so sometimes when I was going into rehearsal I wasn’t in the mood to rehearse a dark script about a baby being kidnapped,” Flores said. “But in order for the show

to be successful you have to make do for the day.”

The UIL group had many after-school practices in order to perfect the show. According to Flores, rehearsal time had to remain efficient and productive for the show to reach its potential.

“I think our secret to doing so well was not running the show too much in rehearsal,” Flores said. “We tried to keep it fresh and new so we weren’t constantly practicing and making the show become too calculated.”

According to Chavez, there were some roadblocks to the final performance. The week of the winter storm in February threw the group off for the remainder of their UIL process and they needed to adapt to ensure the performance was stage ready “We had quick turnarounds for each competition so we had to really grind with our rehearsal,”

Chavez said.

“We started the blocking and costumes almost 10 times quicker than any normal show. Usually, you get about a month or two to prepare for a show but for UIL we had around three weeks.”

Theatre teacher Marco Bazan was in charge of casting and directing the UIL show. Bazan is not new to the theatre world and has directed many Bowie musicals and shows.

“There’s a lot that I want my students to take away from their experience in the UIL one- actplay,” Bazan said. “First and foremost, I hope my students have pride and honor in their work. They worked so hard on a piece that went out to represent our campus to the UIL community and beyond.”

According to Flores, having experienced and passionate directors is essential in a theatre production. In the UIL one-actplay, Bazan and theatre teacher Colton Perry teamed up to create the winning production of Violet Sharp.

“Bazan’s directing and Perry’s help with all the technical visions were what really made the show so successful,” Flores said. “It was also a really big group effort and the cast was great at motivating each other.”

The UIL one-act-play advanced four different rounds and also picked up many individual awards along the way. Starlight Theatre Company members won awards such as All-Star Cast, Outstanding Technician, and Outstanding Technical Crew.

“I want the kids at Bowie to know about all the individual talent that the Starlight Theatre Company has,” Flores said. “The cast has so many people and they are all amazing at acting so I would love more people to come see a show and appreciate the talent. There might be peo -

ple you sit next to in class that have amazing talents that you don’t know about.”

More than 14,000 Texas high school students participate in theatre UIL competitions and judges are constantly seeing new pieces and interpretations. The judges score based on the overall quality of performance and individual acting skills.

“At the end of the day, theatre is art and is subjective so it’s hard to rank or grade pieces,” Bazan said. “Some people love our show and others don’t love it as much. I think the most important thing is for students to fully invest in their character and hope for the best.”

As the UIL season ends for the company members, they look ahead to a busy season of spring shows and senior-directed shows. According to Chavez, UIL has a special meaning to the group in the way that relationships are formed.

“My favorite part of going through the UIL process was the people that I was around,” Chavez said. “For UIL, it is a select group of people and a tight cast. With big shows like spring shows and fall shows there can be up to 80 people so it’s hard to make connections like you can in a UIL cast.”

According to Chavez, it was difficult to manage class-

es when missing for UIL and the stress was piling up for a lot of company members. The company members practiced for two to three hours every day for weeks leading up to the events and also missed school to attend competitions.

“The Starlight Theatre Company puts a lot of effort into what we do and there is a lot of hard work that happens behind the scenes,” Chavez said. “The same goes for other organizations like band, cheer, and all extracurriculars. People put in a lot more effort than people think and I hope people go out and support and maybe come and watch a show.”

SMILING BIG: Culinary club president Paige Watson makes conversation with guests at the culinary silent auction dinner. Watson and co-president, Dante Campero-Campion, oversaw the majority of the event and food preparation. The pair has been prepping since the start of the Spring semester.

PHOTO BY Nick Wood

SURPRISED CELEBRATION: The Violet Sharp cast celebrates in shock after discovering they were awarded first place in the bi-district UIL competition. Directors wanted to surprise the group to get their raw reaction to the news. PHOTO COURTESY OF @stcboosters on Instagram

The STC has so many amazing actors, so I would love more people to come see a show and appreciate the amazing talent.

Emma Flores

Violet Sharp cast member

Culinary is a new experience for me and I got to meet awesome people. It helps me feel more well-rounded as a student.

Dargahi Culinary club member

FOUR COURSES: The gourmet dinner consisted of four courses, including salmon cucumber bites as an appetizer. The meal was made by the culinary students during class, who were divided and assigned to different food production groups.

PHOTO BY Nick Wood

The Mandalorian surpasses outlooks

Newly released season three leaves Star Wars fans in shock off what the saga offered

Claire Scott Review Editor

The dry gusts of wind howl through the canyons of planet Arvala-7, faint voices in an alien language from a near-by town carry throughout the quiet desert, and suddenly the silhouette of a man dressed head to toe in pristine metal armor enters the frame.

Taking first place on the Disney Plus Top-Ten Best Shows, according to Digital Trends, The Mandalorian has made a huge comeback this year, and I only expect the show to gain more popularity throughout the year.

Although the idea of a human-like protagonist venturing throughout the wonders of the universe seems overdone by the film industry, you simply cannot get away from the fact that the Star Wars saga blows it out of the water in terms of casting, plot-lines, and outstanding reviews every time a new production is dropped.

To no surprise, season three of the Mandalorian has left fans in complete awe of what the entertainment industry is capable of creating.

The show made its first appearance on Disney Plus on November 12, 2019. And since then, two more seasons have been produced in October of 2020 and March of 2023. Since the release of the third season, the show as a whole has received countless positive reviews on social media, including but not limited to TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. The Mandalorian has brought in over 90 million new subscribers to Disney Plus, and Disney expects to reach 230 million subscribers by the end of 2024.

From exhilarating in-space battles to visually stunning works of CGI, season three of The Mandalorian has its fans on the edge of their seats, as director Jon Faverau takes you along the journey of a seemingly cold-hearted Mandalorian and his mysterious green friend.

To paint the picture of season one, we are introduced to a lone bounty hunter by the name of Din Djarin, played by Pedro Pascal, who travels

the galaxy in his spaceship, the Razor Crest. But he then finds himself in a tricky situation when he receives a job from the Bounty Hunter’s Guild, while occupying planet Nevarro.

Season two was also a thrilling watch. Djarin becomes more acquainted with Grogu, the alien child that he must return to his home. The two friends continue to explore the galaxy, making both allies and enemies. Towards the middle of the season, Djarin starts to notice that in order to find Grogu’s home, he must locate his own people, on the planet of Mandalore.

Season three was the perfect follow up to the previous seasons. Not only that, but the quality of seasons one and two can’t come even close to competing against season three.

Just about every character in the latest season is significantly more

well-rounded. The storyline has also improved, there are not as many noticeable plot holes that leave everyone questioning the show as a whole.

Throughout the whole series, Pascal has played Djarin wonderfully. After watching the full show, I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role better.

As expected, new characters are introduced into season three. Although these characters are new to the film, their roles still follow along with the Star Wars saga.

In some of the latest episodes, the show brings in Captain Tuttle, played by Tim Meadows, who is a colonel that worked for the New Republic. Bo-Katan Kryze, played by Katee Sackhoff, also rejoins the plot as a Mandalorian Lieutenant to Pre Vizsla. Because these well-known actors

have been casted, their presence has drawn in new fan-bases, such as watchers of Another Life, Battlestar, Galactica, and the Mean Girls series. This is a contributing factor as to why the new season picked up so much viewership.

Before mentioning more exceptional commentary about the new season, it is worth pointing out the negative features as well.

The latest episodes have way too many side quests incorporated into the overall plot, and it becomes overwhelming at times as a result. The dialogue has a lot of unneeded fluff, which is also contributed to the fact that there are too many subplots

Just about every Star Wars movie or show also has a red herring incorporated in the storyline as well. But the multiple ones in season three of The

Mandalorian are very easy to see ahead of time.

In terms of seriousness surrounding the plot, the latest season severely lacks that concept. A show like this should be more mature, but because the character Grogu is interpreted as a child-like figure by fans, it takes a serious toll on the series to the point where it seems like the show is geared toward children, even though the recommended watching age for it is 14 and older.

In terms of the incorporated comedy within the plot, the latest season gravely falls short of that concept. The writers can barely seem to land a joke on the audience, which isn’t a good quality since children consequently like to watch this series alongside their parents supervision.

The comedic moments in the episodes are weak, and sit awkwardly with watchers. I don’t recommend children under the age of seven watch this because there is a strong potential for boredom.

But all negative aspects aside, season three of The Mandalorian still takes the cake for being the theatrical masterpiece that it is. The features that make this series amazing strongly outweigh what drags the show down. As provided by Google Reviews with an overall ninety five percent of watchers enjoying the show, ninety one percent from Rotten Tomatoes, and 8.7 of 10 stars from IMDb.

These statistics are eye-opening, considering how recent the drop of the new season was. Thus proving that the Star Wars saga continues to leave fans pleasantly surprised.

Referencing from Google Reviews, many watchers said that the directors continue to cultivate phenomenal episodes, which I agree with entirely. And from Rotten Tomatoes, reviewers rave about how action-packed and expertly-crafted the latest season is.

Season three of The Mandalorian deserves all the attention it has been getting from Star Wars fanatics. The pure talent radiated off of each character, enticing storyline, and stunning film sets are sure to leave you wanting more of this series.

Fantasy board game becomes a hit movie for watchers

Noah Ellinger Dispatch Reporter

In 1974, Dungeons and Dragons was the first role-play board game released, sparking a new genre in media and entertainment all together. With the vast imagination of creating your own story or following one, it was an instantaneous hit for kids in the 70’s and 80’s.

The first movie adaptation released in April of 2000 was a complete failure.

The plot was horrendous, there were barely any recognizable monsters, CGI was noticeably cheap and the acting felt way too forced.

Having played the game a few times and due to these reasons, when I heard of the making of a new movie adaptation my expectations were immediately low, despite the cast having incredible actors participating, such as Chris Pine, Justice Smith, and Michelle Rodriguez. I felt a sense of doubt that they could perfectly highlight the vast world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves released on March 3, and gained a respectable score of 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 95 percent, with critics praising Chris Pines performance and other supporting roles. Seeing this I had a sense of hope and satisfaction that maybe this movie did some things right.

With that said, walking into the theater I was surprised to see it mostly full with families and adults all ready to watch the movie. My expecta tions were already low and I was fairly surprised to see the amount of people there. Mentally preparing myself for a disaster to unfold, I was surprised at how well the movie did with the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

The characters of this movie carry the story in an endearing, humorous way. Each character has a certain struggle and personality trait that gives them more depth and dimension. To give an example, Justice Smith’s character is a frail wizard who has a very low self-esteem. This causes funny interactions with certain other characters like Michelle Rodriguez’s being a strong, stoic-like character who loves charging into battles. The characters in the movie perfectly highlight some of the banter that happens when you play the board game with friends.

The movie flawlessly highlights this aspect when a certain character makes a decision and another character has a slightly unfriendly remark or opinion in response. This causes the movie to become a banter comedy, with the characters working together but also, slightly offending each other along the way.

However, there are some downfalls in regard to this form of comedy. Some of the banter and jokes told can be off or unnecessary, and while most quips got a chuckle out of me, others had me skeptical or annoyed as they were off putting or unnecessary.

Another aspect that this movie does right is the monsters and creatures the characters encounter on their adventure. I was treated to hidden Easter eggs of certain monsters and beasts that I encountered in the board game, but this time it was on the big screen. Seeing the

the scenes looks on the making of the movie. I was surprised at the amount of use with practical effects in the making of the movie, most of the film was filmed at real world locations and old castle ruins. Even some of the creatures in the movie were practical effects. Seeing this in the movie was stunning, making the movie give off a Lord of the Rings vibe. When watching this you will feel immersed and serenaded by the environment of each scene and confrontation.

with the movie is the pacing, the pacing of the first half of the movie seems very rushed. The movie starts off with a short backstory of our main character Agden played by Chis Pine. The back story seems too quick with very little information on the world that we are immersed in. This caused some of my family members to ask questions on some certain creatures and roles the characters played. Though, once it gets to a

relatable to people who play board games and is overall a fun scene finally throwing us into the main plot of the story. Dungeons & Dragons is a film that can be enjoyed by all. With many Easter eggs and hints to the board game and a decent amount of explanation for newcomers, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves deserves a good few hours of your time to watch and enjoy by yourself or with your family.

ART BY Colin Barnes

ART BY Noah Bihan

State law damages drag communities

Multiple Senate Bills impede on LGBTQ+ lifestyles & rights

Children sit in awe. They witness the story of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo and the bunny’s journey to getting married to his bunny boyfriend.

The storyteller creates worlds for the children through the many stories they have to tell, and children witness these stories before their very eyes.

This storyteller is an entertainer with a passion for theatre and a love for children and is none other than a man dressed as a woman.

Passed in the Senate on April 5, 2023, Senate Bill 12 (SB12) follows the stance of not allowing men dressed as women or women dressed as men to be viewed by children, specifically when being portrayed sexually. In addition to this bill is Senate Bill 1601 (SB1601), removing library funding if men dressed as women or women dressed as men read books to children.

We at the Dispatch believe these bills are a slippery slope in the wrong direction. They are specifically designed to impede drag and LGBTQ rights as well as politicize issues that don’t require to be seen through a political lens. Child development

and safety is not political issue. While the stated purpose of the bill is to protect children from sexual and prurient interest, these bills seem to focus more on drag/LGBTQ censorship than child development.

It is completely indisputable that children shouldn’t be exposed to sexual and prurient interests; however, these bills leave an indecent amount of interpretation that makes members of the drag and LGBTQ communities vulnerable to being targeted and marginalized.

Specifically following SB1601, individuals dressed in drag are not allowed to read to children in a library setting with the threat of the libraries losing their public funding. This contradicts SB12 where the main issue is sexual and prurient interests, revealing that the main issue Senator Homophobe has is only that the performers are men dressed as women or women dressed as men.

Calgary-based registered psychologist specializing in child and adolescent mental health, Ashleigh Yule, and psychotherapist, board-certified clinical sexologist, as well as founder/ clinical director of The Center for Relationship and Sexual Health, Joe Kort both seem to

agree on how damaging drag is to adolescent development.

Simply put, it’s not. Yule states children's and adolescents' views on sexuality are fluid, especially because they haven’t been exposed to gender norms, with drag specifically challenging gender norms in positive ways; allowing adolescents to express themselves regardless of old-fashioned gender norms.

In addition to this, Kort states that exposing anyone, including children, “people with a different sexual orientation or gender identity doesn't influence their innate sexual orientation or gender identity.”

He also includes how little people focus on how bigoted ideals as well as institutional harms, are much worse than the ridiculous fear that children can “be turned gay” due to LGBTQ+ exposure.

Yule adds that some drag shows include more “flirty” and sexual performances, which can result in risky sexual behavior later in life.

However, there are also flirty and sexual performances where the performers conform to a traditional set of gender norms.

In the same way, parents restrict their children from

viewing these sexual and flirty performances, parents should restrict their children from viewing the same shows with drag and LGBTQ performers.

Sexual orientation has nothing to do with how sexual a performance is. The parent must protect their child from exposure to harmful sexual and prurient acts, regardless of the performers' sexual orientation.

There is only one real answer to these questions. Prejudice and homophobia. No one on either side of this bill wishes for children to be exposed to sexual and prurient acts. The Drag and LGBTQ+ community wishes to protect children as much as Sen. Hughes. A solution to these bills should be focusing on real issues that stunt child development. Specifically when looking at sexual and prurient interests, sites found on the Internet are the main accusers. We need to focus on how children are being exposed to sexual acts and not on how few speculate children get confused when facing the LGBTQ and drag communities.

GoGuardian is necessary for honest education

11.7 times per day, taking up an average of 21% of class time.

GoGuardian is a pain. It gets in the way of making menial and extremely boring assignments go by fast without having to pay attention to the concept that’s being taught.

That has to sound at least a little ridiculous to even those who agree with the sentiment. While GoGuardian may feel to be an invasion of privacy, the only privacy students desire is to do tasks unrelated to school work or indulge in forms of academic dishonesty.

Although being forced to stay honest may be annoying, students should do the work and learn the material. GoGuardian isn’t used as a weapon to catch dishonest students; its purpose is to keep students on track with the curriculum as well as be honest.

Because GoGuardian might feel like an invasion of privacy, it’s important to ask what purpose privacy serves in class. Privacy isn’t something that should be needed when students are expected to be doing classwork.

While privacy is important and everyone has a right to their own personal space, I don’t think privacy is necessary

when simply doing schoolwork. Because plainly put, who cares if your teacher knows you’re on task?

According to Harvard, a survey conducted in 2015 found that students check their devices for non-classroom purposes

• Projects that student chooses to not turn in on time are subject to a 10-point deduction daily

• Daily grades and labs not turned in on time will receive a 30-point late grade penalty

• Late work due to absences needs to be turned in a timely fashion

EDITORIAL POLICY

In addition to this, a survey conducted by Tindell and Bohlander in 2011 found that 92% of college students reported using their phones to send text messages during class.

I believe that if college students abuse their devices to this degree, as early as 2011 when devices were substantially less advanced, then high school students in 2023 will be just as distracted if not more. GoGuardian helps fight these distractions. However distracted students aren't the only issue, some have speculated how applications such as GoGuardian can be seen as a breach of student trust as well as jeopardizing student-teacher relations/trust. Contrary to this, I believe GoGuardian was implemented because students broke this trust initially.

If students truly don’t want to be monitored during class then that trust has to be reestablished through student academic honesty and productivity. Unless every student uses devices responsibly, then GoGuardian should stay implemented for the sake of keeping easily distracted students on task.

GoGuardian serves its purpose well: keeping students on task and honest. It’s a tool that has served well to support both teachers and students with their education.

Correction

Stacie Feen late work policy misrepresented

Stacie Feen Stacie Feen Late Work Policy

• The Dispatch is the official student newspaper of James Bowie High School. 3500 copies are published and distributed for free six times a year, generally once per six weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.

• The Dispatch is an open forum for student expression. The Dispatch is not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor. Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials.

• The Dispatch works to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We strive to make our coverage and content meaningful, timely, and interesting to our readers. Our articles reflect our genuine objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of quality.

• We make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph without indicating that the photograph is an illustration.

• Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Dispatch staff or administration as a whole.

• The Dispatch welcomes reader input. Please send any letters, articles, comments or corrections to bowie.journalism@gmail.com, call (512) 841-4184, mail them to 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749 or drop them off in room F-214 with adviser Michael Reeves or any editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

In the Feb. 17, 2023 edition of the Dispatch, on Page 2, News, there was an error in the story about Bowie’s late work policies causing students to feel stress. In the infographic on the left side under the title Stacie Feen the first data point reads incorrectly: For every day a lab or test is turned in late ten points will be deducted. The correct policy is: Projects that students choose to not turn in on time are subject to a 10 point (sic) deduction per day (excluding week-

ends/holidays).

In the accompanying story on that same page, on paragraph 11, there was awkward wording of the transition sentence. It should read: Feen’s late work policy, which aligns with other anatomy teachers, involves a point deduction for work that is late. For students in anatomy classes who fail to turn in daily work like homework or labs the point deduction is 30 points. The Dispatch apologizes for the errors.

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Anti-LGBTQ attacks in Texas need to stop

The recent spike in anti-trans and LGBT legislation in Texas is overly harmful

alone, and, according to the Human Rights Campaign, Texas is one of the states leading this sudden push for anti-LGBT legislation.

I did not learn about gay people in a classroom. The first time I saw a gay flag was when I was seven years old. It belonged to my neighbors, my neighbors who were two men. I did not know what the flag was, just that it was pretty and it was not until years later that I even realized my neighbors were queer. Now, I have that flag on my wall. I identify with it and it feels like my state wants to take it away from me.

Texas is a historically conservative, Republican state as proven by the fact that Texas has not voted Democrat in a presidential election since 1976. Over their time in power, the Republican party has slowly devolved into hateful rhetoric and a corrupt version of the “American way.”

It is hard to pin down when the higher powers in the GOP started to turn against every minority under the sun, but for many people it can be traced back to the election of 2016 with Donald Trump. Since this election, there have been movements such as Black Lives Matter, an increase in demands for gun control, and more bills than ever restricting LGBT individuals.

According to PBS, as of mid-March over 400 anti-LGBT bills have been proposed in America in the year 2023

This year Texas lawmakers have made a major push for things such as limiting gender-affirming health care as well as limiting the teaching of LGBT subjects in both public and charter schools. These bills are overtly harmful and incredibly destructive. They will quite literally kill children and will absolutely not stop the rising number of people in younger generations that identify as LGBT. Not to mention that the worst part of these bills is the fact that these lawmakers don’t actually care about the people they are affecting.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, despite bills like these becoming more common, of the 315 anti-LGBT bills proposed in 2022, only 9% of them became law. So now the question: if so many of these bills aren’t becoming law then why have them? It’s simple: to make a statement. Many lawmakers don’t care if these bills become law because they don’t actually care about the people and/or children these bills are affecting. They care about the fact that people on the far right can rally behind these ideals. It is not about legislature, it is about proclaiming your hatred for a group of people.

There are six main bills in both the House and the Senate in Texas that prohibit those under 18 from receiving gender-affirming healthcare such as hormones, surgeries, and puberty blockers. One of these bills is Texas House Bill 1686, which, as of March 27, has passed in the Texas House of

Representatives. The bill had public testimony on March 24 and, according to an estimate from the Texas Tribune, there were more than 2,800 people signed up to testify in regards to this bill. Of the 2,800 people just under 100 of them were there to actually support the bill’s potential passing. The testimony was abruptly cut off before many people got to speak in the House. If the people of Texas truly wanted this bill to be passed, if they truly wanted to “protect the children,” they would be there testifying in favor of HB 1686, but they weren’t there. Instead, parents, doctors, and young children testified for their right to be who they are in the state of Texas. Banning transgender healthcare can have massive effects on a child’s mental health. According to the Trevor Project, suicide is the leading cause of death among people 10-24 and LGBT youth are four times as at risk of committing suicide then their peers. Many Republican lawmakers have taken this to say that because of the higher suicide rates among trans and LGBT youth, parents should not encourage their children to transition nor should children be allowed to transition for fear of decreased mental health. However, in 2021, the American Medical Association stated that taking gender-affirming care away from people is what leads to decreased mental health. If these lawmakers in Texas wanted to

actually do what is best for children, then they would let gender-affirming care be available instead of pushing trans children out of Texas then advocating for parental choice.

When your favorite singer announces their long-awaited world tour, you might be willing to spend a great deal more than you should for tickets and be ready to put up with any problems that may arise. But for most people, these prices can be too absurd, which causes many die-hard fans to skip out on the experience of a lifetime.

The same can be said for the Taylor Swift Eras tour which recently kicked off in America and is headed internationally soon. This being said, Taylor fans all over the nation have been upset at the overpriced tickets and queue crashes on the Ticketmaster website.

As I tried obtaining my own tickets for Taylor Swift’s Houston and Arlington shows, I was met with these same issues that made it quite an agonizing experience to buy concert tickets. And prices aside, the Ticketmaster website wouldn’t let any of my ticket purchases through, until all that was left were the back-ofthe-barrel nosebleed seats. Of course, I still had to buy them because it’s Taylor Swift, but at a painful price.

Given these events, many people are putting the blame in the wrong places, when they should be blaming Ticketmaster and similar corporations monopolizing sky-high ticket prices.

Given the staggering and record-breaking interest in pre-registering for tickets, one would think that would have been a clue to Ticketmaster that the actual sale date for tickets would also be record-breaking. And thus, the company should have prepared. Clearly,

they were not. In addition to Swifties flooding the website for pre-sale tickets, millions of bots attacked the site as well, leading to peak demand four times greater than seen before. Just for Ticketmaster to cancel sales to the eagerly awaiting general public, as there were no tickets left.

So, since the resale market is the only option left for fans, it begins a difficult decision of how much money one is willing to spend. In the week leading up to the recent Arlington, Texas shows, tickets on StubHub and VividSeats were starting in the low $400 range. But considering that this gives fans a chance to see the 12-time Grammy-winning Taylor Swift perform since her reputation tour in 2018, tickets are well worth the price of admission.

The fan experience at the Eras tour is one a Swiftie will not forget. Swift described the

Eras tour as “a journey through the musical eras of my career” which has spanned an amazing 17 years. Each show covers the 10 “Eras” of Taylor Swift, in an epic 44-song marathon, lasting over three hours. Very few performers, like Swift, have such stamina on stage and she’s going to be keeping up this pace for an amazing 52 dates on her US Eras tour.

Fans were provided with bracelets that lit up in sync with the show, providing an amazing artistic effect regardless of where one was sitting. This also explains why there was a strict “no lights allowed” policy for the show which some fans had been worked up over.

Swift’s show also included 10 full sets and costume changes, one for each of her Eras, or studio albums spanning her career. Every aspect of the show’s aesthetics from her costumes to visual effects, lighting, pyro -

57 bills

16 bills

Parental choice is one of the big pushes from Governor Greg Abbott as of late. It is a push for it to be the parent’s decision as far as where their child goes to school, disregarding the cost of tuition or zoning district. I find it very ironic that Abbott thinks that parents should have a say in where their children go to school and what they learn but doesn’t think that parents should have the right to decide what is best for their children medically. Even if you are not transgender or affected by these restrictions, some proposed Texas bills still may affect you.

Currently in Texas there are three main bills that talk about restricting the education of LGBT topics. Education and the queer community has been a particular soft spot for conservative lawmakers in recent years. Even outside of Texas, particularly in states such as Florida, mentions of the LGBT community have been removed from many curricula with things such as “Don’t Say Gay” bills. Similar

technics, and set design were spectacular. Swift captured the very essence of each of her Eras in a visual, sensual experience for her fans. This was shown with her Donatella-Versace-designed rhinestone bodysuit and Christian Louboutin sparkling boots to match her Lover Era and a gorgeous sequin ball gown for her Speak Now Era.

One of the most Twitter-worthy aspects of her performance has been her infamous stage “dive.” This is when Swift literally looks like she’s diving on stage. In reality, fans have learned that there’s an inflatable airbag under a portion of the stage where the floor opens up. Initially, there is a red glow that turns green when it’s safe for Swift to literally dive through an opening on the stage. She then “swims” underneath the stage (presumably doing a quick costume change), and then hops back up on the other side to continue her performance. Truly amazing.

And to top things off, in true Swift style, she donated to the local Tarrant Area Food Bank ahead of her tour stop in Arlington. The TAFB would not release the exact amount of her contribution, but called Swift a “Hunger Hero.” Once again revealing just how amazingly fabulous and thoughtful Taylor Swift has been.

And so, while Taylor Swift’s Eras tickets were highly overpriced, criticism should be placed solely on Ticketmaster, bots, and scammers. But this doesn’t mean that fans who were able to obtain tickets will come home with empty pockets and frown on their face. Truly any amount of money is worth getting to see Taylor Swift and all the entertainment that comes with her tour. So, don’t feel too hard on yourself if you spent an absurd amount on tickets because you won’t be disappointed.

bills have been introduced to Texas legislatures. Proposals like House Bills 1155 and 1541 would ban the teaching of LGBT subjects and people from Kindergarten to eighth grade. Both have very similar wording to that of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill which passed last year. Arguably the most terrifying of these kinds of bills is Texas Senate Bill 8, a 27-page bill that would set up savings accounts for every student in the state of Texas and boost parental choice in schools. This bill would not only allow students to go to schools with tuitions more easily but also, according to one singular paragraph in the document, ban the teaching of LGBT subjects from kindergarten to 12th grade. This is scary to me because it is simply slipped into this document with one, four-line paragraph and is the most restrictive of Texas’ attempts to limit queer education.

Overall, this should not be happening. That’s the simple truth. There are so many other things going on in the world that the government, both federal and state, should be concerned with. They should be concerned about issues like deadly mass shootings instead of worrying about children’s sex organs. Lawmakers can’t hide behind the pretense of “it’s all for the children’’ then be silent when children lose their lives to gun violence. These are children’s lives, not political statements. I can only hope that lawmakers start to realize the people they are actually affecting and focus on more important things.

BULLDAWGS SPEAK OUT !

What do you think of TikTok potentially being banned?

If Tik Tok was banned I would feel bad because a lot of people like meeting Online friends through that platform. I use it for that too.

Gina Linsalata Freshman

Avery MongoyaSophomore

I think that TikTok should not be banned in the US because (a) it’s a violation of the First Amendment and (b) information isn’t being sent to China. It’s actually banned there.

I have negative feelings about TikTok in terms of how it affects things like mental health, but if we give the government the power to ban it then what other powers are we giving them.

Mindy Le JeuneTeacher

I’m fairly neutral. I try to stay away from social media. Social media can be a time suck, anxiety inducing thing so I try to keep it out of my space.

BY Asher Hagan

Genevive Hill Junior

Axois Houston

ART BY Asher Hagan

Ultimate Frisbee soars through the season Spring season attracts new players

Jogging up the field, getting enough momentum to jump and secure the flying disc and descending into a seamless throw to the next player further up the field is a repetitive list of actions performed by the Bowie Ultimate Frisbee team.

““As a new player I’m kind of going into every game blind about the team we are facing but knowing that we had practices to help us prepare is a really fun experience,” first-year player senior Tony Doan said.

Although every jump doesn’t end in success, the fast pace game testing agility and speed keeps every player on their toes. Saffron Hartreeve, the only female player as well as team captain knows which drills will help the team improve before game day.

“As team captain I mainly let everyone know when practices are and run warm-ups before a tournament,” Hartreeve said. “I also try to keep the team focused and coming to practices, where we primarily run drills that focus on movements that occur regularly in a game. Like handlers and defense exercises.”

Ultimate Frisbee’s popularity may not be equal to that of soccer or football. However, this does not indicate immense athletic ability and dedication are any less necessary. Players are constantly running up and down the width of a football field, jumping up at precious moments in an attempt to catch and pass the Frisbee to another one of the seven players on the field. Hartreeve began her journey with Ultimate Frisbee last year.

“After only a year on the team, the captain at the time who was a senior leaving for college thought I was one the more responsible people on the team and offered the role to me and I took it,” Hartreeve said. “I really love the sport and really love the respect and kindness that every player has. And it’s a good combination of a lot of

other sports, and the game isn’t too difficult to understand.”

A newer addition to Bowie’s long list of sports, Ultimate Frisbee is a nonviolent and no-contact option, drawing in a new community of athletes, and countering the majority of sports culture and maintaining sportsmanship is the number one priority. One of the newest members, junior Evan Belkin, joined after having been convinced by Hartreeve.

“Ultimate Frisbee is just one of the most fun sports I’ve played. This and baseball are my two main sports and luckily I can do both at the same time,” Belkin said. “But with Ultimate Frisbee, there is just a greater sense of sportsmanship. There are no umpires or referees, so you have to work with your team and work with the other team to follow all the rules correctly.”

First recognized as an official sport in 1984, directly after its height in the 70s, is likely the reason for the game’s spirit centered around a good time rather than the competition itself. After one team reaches 11 point and the game ends a ‘complement circle’ commences keeping spirits high even for the losing team.

“At the end of games you all sit in a circle with a player on the opposite team sitting on either side of you, and if someone from the other team did something good you shoot them out going back and forth until everyone is done,” Belkin said.

Despite the several experienced players on the team; Bowie sits at a disadvantage to some teams in the league such as LASA, due to having nearly half as many players. As team captain, Hartreeve tries to even the playing field by increasing new player outreach.

“More players means everyone can get longer breaks to hydrate and rest so they aren’t as tired after every game and perform better during the game itself,” Hartreeve said. “We try to kind of put the word out about the team by making fly-

ers and participating in all the club fairs, doing fun activities to get people interested.”

The small but tight-knit team are always seeking out new players as the team only currently exceeds the required player on field by three. Since the team isn’t divided into varsity and JV new players have the chance to learn from peers rather than just coaches.

“We have gained a lot more people this year. I just hope to see more girls join next year, but it can definitely be hard with an [almost] all guy team. And when new players do come to practice I think they integrate into the team pretty easily,” Hartreeve said. “We just try to get them more comfortable with throwing, starting them off with basic motions like an over and underhand throw and of course teach them about how the actual game works. And we usually have one person dedicated to helping them throwout practice.”

During the spring season, stretching between mid-march and the end of May, the pressure is on. Tournaments are every weekend on Saturdays from early afternoon to the evening, held in Manor, about a 40-minute drive from Austin. And 11 students continue to make that commitment.

“Practices are two to three times a week and it takes a lot of physical energy to play but the people on the team made me want to come back for the spring league,” Doan said. “And spring league itself has been the best tournament so far, they are more fun, and having more teams to play against has been way more exciting.”

For more information about the club check out Reporter Mars Canepa’s inside look!

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE OR ALL: The Bowie team makes fast progress during the first half of the game against LASA, and their infamous Bowie chat signals the end of halftime and the second half of the game is about to commence. Before and after every game as well as half-time the team gathers in a circle hands in the notorious mascot shape and on the count of three the collection of different voices unite into one loud chant and immediately meet with a dispersed onto the field. “It kind of resets the tone of the game. And I like that everyone is really hyped after,” Tony Doan said.

FIND

THE WINDOW: A player from the LASA team positions himself only a few inches away from junior Saffron Hartreeve, his arms fully extended, throwing them up and down in an attempt to block Hartreeve’s pass. Although, her swift technical moves provide a fledgling unobstructed pathway to her teammate. In order to follow game guidelines Hartreeve’s pass must be within ten seconds after her fingers grip the worn-out plastic. “A disc can never be handed to another player; it must always be thrown which makes the whole game worth playing but also more difficult,” Hartreeve

TAKE A KNEE: Team captain Saffron Hartreeve kneels down beside sophomore Joshua Findley and junior Evan Belkin, utilizing her break to talk strategy, hoping a victory is in sight against Belton High School. After the 11-4 loss against LASA, the best team in the league, Hartreeve has every player switch jerseys from red to white. A fresh start for a new game. The Bowie team leaves the second and last game of the tournament victorious with an 11-5 final score. “Even though we have a smaller amount of players compared to some teams and as team captain this might be a little biased but I would put us in about third out of the ten that are in the league,” Hartreeve said.

EYES ON THE PRIZE: In a flash the soaring disc gains speed and comes barreling towards first-year player sophomore Brandon Loane and junior Curtis Lear. Focused on the target and prepared for impact, Loane and Lear run towards the Frisbee hoping for a solid jump to secure a successful pass. “When I’m trying

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

said.

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

TWIST

TURN THROW:

Brandon Loane

keeps his back turned and eyes glued to one of his teammates, twisting his arms and hands, which have a tight grasp on the disc, as far right as they can go in order to gain enough force to send the Frisbee flying across the field. “It was one more throw before we were in the opposite end zone and scored the point,” Hartreeve said.

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

Emerson Traugott

Photo Essay Editor